


Frozen Jupiter

by InkyWandmaker



Series: Jupiter Years [1]
Category: Metal Gear
Genre: Blood and Gore, Canon Compliant, Canon Typical Violence, M/M, Mentions of Rape, Mind Control, More characters to be added, More tags to be added, Past Child Abuse, Shadow Moses era, Slow Burn, Soulmate AU, Swearing, Torture, literally scene by scene of MGS1, soulmate identifying marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-07
Updated: 2018-02-05
Packaged: 2019-03-01 14:53:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 67,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13297230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InkyWandmaker/pseuds/InkyWandmaker
Summary: Snake never put much stock in the stories of the “bond” between soulmates and personally, he didn’t care about ever meeting his- if he even had one. In his line of work- they’d be too much of a liability, too easy a target.





	1. PART ZERO: INTRODUCTION

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Soulmate AU where once you meet your soulmate for the first time you receive a tattoo of your partner’s first name signature on your body. The tattoo disappears when one of you dies.
> 
> Okay so I literally write this scene by scene. The set up is my boyfriend plays through the game and I write as fast as I can so updates come as fast as we burn through this and I can get it up. A lot of dialogue is taken straight from the game but I steamline some of the whole- they say something, Snake repeats that same thing, they explain the thing. I also tweek some phrases to make them sound more...normal? Anyway, hope you enjoy.

Soulmates were more trouble than they were worth. Snake never put much stock in the stories of the “bond” between these couples and personally, he didn’t care about ever meeting his- if he even had one.

All he wanted was a bottle of booze, a paperback book, some cigs, his dogs, and solitude- he didn’t need anyone else. In his line of work, they would be too much of a liability, too easy a target.

He remembered all too well what had happened to Grey Fox.

Frank was one of his closest friends while he was at FOXHOUND, a mentor and brother in arms. It had been a shock when Snake had been told he was captured and an even bigger surprise when he had found the man, angry and so willing to turn against his unit.

At least, it had been a surprise until Grey Fox had told Snake why he left.

They had been locked in tense hand to hand combat and the look in Frank’s Grey eyes when he told Snake why he left had been chilling.

“Why’d I leave?” He’d repeated, his voice ice. “Why the fuck would I fight for the people who killed him?”

“Killed who?” Snake grunted, he hated trying to talk during a fight.

“Dylan. My soulmate. They found out I’d found him and then they just took him out of the picture.” Frank pushed Snake back enough that they were no longer two inches from each other’s face and drew a long knife out of his belt. “I can’t work for people like that Snake, I’m sorry.”

After that fight, any small desire Snake had possessed to seek out his soulmate died with Fox. It wasn’t worth the pain and suffering it had caused the man who had died smiling, whispering about being with his lover soon.

The battlefield was his first and only home, he couldn’t see himself anywhere else but there and he doubted he ever would.


	2. PART ONE: INFILTRATION

This whole mission was fucked, David thought as he sat bare assed on the cold examination table, listening to Campbell prattle on about the mission objectives. He took a drag of his cigarette as the team flitted about, giving him injections and checking his vitals. Right now he wanted nothing more than to be back in his little shack preparing his dogs for another race.

But he was here now so might as well make the best of it.

Underwater insertion during an Alaskan winter would never be fun, nano machines or the latest in military body suits be damned. By the time Snake had pulled his ass out of the water and into the loading bay of Shadow Moses he was suppressing the urge to shiver, his whole body feeling numb.

He called the Colonel.

“This is Snake. Colonel, can you read me?”

“Loud and clear. What’s the situation?”

Snake glanced over his shoulder, peeking over a few boxes. “Looks like the elevator in the back is the only way up.”

“Just as I expected. Snake, you’ll have to take the Elevator to the surface. Make sure nobody sees you.”

Snake tuned Campbell out after that, ignoring his customary reminders on Codec protocol and avoiding patrols until the connection was terminated. Snake crept through the hanger unseen, crouching behind a forklift until the elevator came back down and he sprinted inside, pressing the button that would take him to the surface.

During the ride up, Snake reached for his goggles and pulled them off. Then he crouched and shed the thick jacket like vest and cowl he had worn to preserve body heat in the frigid water. They were useless now that they were wet and besides, Snake hated how they restricted his range of sight and motion. The suit itself was stiff enough thank you very much.

The ride was slow and loud, too loud for Snake’s tastes and the moment it ground to a halt he dashed for cover and checked in with the colonel. The diversionary effort was going smoothly and he was given the green light to proceed as planned.

Snake took stock of his surroundings.

A Hind D was preparing to take off, probably to deal with the two F-16’s speeding towards the facility.

“Colonel, what’s a Russian gunship doing here?”

“I have no idea but it looks like our little diversion has got their attention. Now is your best chance to slip in unnoticed.”

No shit, that’s kind the point of a diversion Snake thought as the helicopter rose into the air, the drone of its blades loud in the cold night.

“There are only 18 hours left until the deadline, hurry Snake.”

Snake was getting ready to respond when he heard another voice, feminine and with a heavy Chinese accent, remarking about the weather.

“Who’s that?”

“Oh sorry,” the colonel made a sound suspiciously like he was moving in his cushy leather chair, “I haven’t introduced you two yet. That was Mei Ling. She’s been assigned to us as our visual and data processing specialist. She designed your Codec and the Soliton you’re using for this mission.”

Snake heard a crackle that meant she was being patched through on the colonel’s frequency. “Nice to meet you Snake. It’s an honor to speak to a living legend like yourself!” the woman said quickly, trying her best to hide her excitement and her terribly thick accent. It was strangely endearing to hear her, someone so young and inexperienced was easy to read and frankly a breath of fresh air. “...what’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I just didn’t expect a world class designer of military technology to be so...” he searched for the right word. Naive, bubbly, young. “Cute.”

She giggled coyly, “you’re just flattering me.”

“No I’m serious,” Snake said, finding the words to be true even if it didn’t come out quite like he’d intended. “Well at least I know I won’t be bored the next 18 hours.”

“C’mon,” she laughed, a smile evident in her voice. “I can’t believe I’m being hit on by the legendary Solid Snake!”

Snake had the urge to smack his forehead. Why was it that every woman he tried to talk to thought he was hitting on them? Mei Ling kept talking.

“I’m surprised. You’re very frank for a trained killer.”

Snake snorted. He was a solider not a spy, eloquence was not exactly his forte. “Looks like we’ve got a lot to learn about each other.”

Mei Ling changed the subject and Snake found himself being roped into a lecture on the ins and outs of his Soliton. It was pretty straight forward, even without having been already briefed on how to use it during the VR he did in preparation, and Snake wished he could just get on with it. Every second spent crouching in the shadows was a second better spent on accomplishing the mission.

After she was finished, Campbell came back on. “We’ll be observing your movement through radar so be free to contact us any time you’d like by Codec.”

“Got it,” Snake snapped impatiently. “I’ll call if I’m feeling lonely.”

The doctor from the Discovery, the one with the fixation on Nano machines piped up. “Seriously Snake, we’re here to back you up so call us if you need some information.”

Snake rolled his eyes as Mei Ling chimed in, rattling off her Codec frequency. Just as he’s about to terminate the call, Campbell was back.

“Remember, besides your binoculars you’re naked. You’ll need to pick up your weapons on sight.”

“I know,” Snake snapped. What did these assholes think he was, some rookie? This wasn’t his first mission, not by a long shot. “First I’m strip searched by Doctor Naomi here and then all my weapons are taken away. Imagine yourself put in that situation, it’s not exactly easy to forget.”

“Well if you make it back in one piece maybe I’ll let you do a strip search on me,” Naomi simpered, her voice overly saccharine.

Hard pass.

“I’ll keep that in mind doc.” No he wouldn’t. “By the way, sorry to disappoint you but I did manage to smuggle out my smokes.”

“How did you do that?” Naomi asked, her voice less than pleased.

“In my stomach,” Snake felt just a little satisfaction in having outsmarted the know-it-all who liked to throw a bunch of science jargon around. “Thanks to that shot you gave me that suppressed my stomach acids.”

That seemed to finally shut them up, leaving Naomi in stunned silence, Mei Ling in confusion, and Campbell in resignation, being long used to his “good luck charm” tradition. The call ended.

Snake pulled out his binoculars and looked around, figuring out how he was going to infiltrate. The front door was out, too heavily guarded, so he was left with the air ducts on the first and second floor. He cut across the yard, snatching up a few chaff grenades and a Socom from the back of a truck. There were cameras everywhere but they were old models with huge blind spots, all Snake had to do was slide behind them against the wall.

He sprinted up the stairs, opting to enter via the second floor ventilation as the guards were spread thin there.

Snake had just removed the metal grating for the shaft when Campbell called, informing him that the F-16’s were shot down and that they could no longer launch any more diversions for fear of the terrorists launching the nuke. Snake acknowledged the information and started to crawl through the vents on his belly.

Most people didn’t like doing the army crawl for extended periods of time but Snake never minded. Maybe it was the years of training, maybe it was just the fact that he was so used to it, or maybe there was something about being called Snake for most of your life that made you move like one but he had always found that while slow, crawling was the easiest way to slip past enemies unnoticed.

Once inside the vents, Snake took a right, then a left. Master Miller called and checked in, offering tips of survival that Snake promptly filed away as ‘useless and unhelpful but thanks anyway’ and terminated the call. He peeked out of a grate to get his bearings and proceeded to take a left towards the fortified area he glimpsed.

Eventually, he stopped above another grate, hearing voices. He listened in.

“I moved the DARPA chief to a cell in the first floor basement,” one guard said.

“What about the vent cleaning?”

“Just removed the vent covers. Soon they’ll be spraying for rats...”

Snake tuned out, he didn’t need to hear the rest, and just as he started to continue on he heard them mention a woman in the cell. The colonels niece? He’d have to investigate further.

He passed a few rooms and noted that there was some supplies in them before dropping down. Now to find the elevator to the basement.

Snake popped into a side room, grabbing some thermal goggles before descending the stairs and crawling under a vehicle, surveying the guards in front of the elevator and waiting for his chance.

The ride down was mercifully quicker and quieter than the ride from the cargo bay had been and Snake noticed that the DARPA chief had been picked up on the radar.

The doors, while still locked, were unguarded and Snake ran past them and into the vents unseen.

Too easy. It set Snake’s nerves on edge.


	3. PART TWO: DARPA CHIEF

A terrible smell wafted up into the vents that curled Snake’s nose. It smelled like literal shit. A quick crawl and a glance down revealed the source to be a guard who was relieving himself in the restroom, muttering about colds and a woman. Gross. Snake continued on.

The next vent was a young woman, perhaps 18 or 19, doing sit-ups on her cot. She was well built and conventionally attractive with fiery red hair. Not important right now. The vent following held an older gentleman, black, sitting at the edge of his cot with his head down. Bingo.

Snake started unscrewing the grate and the man’s head snapped up. “W-who’s there?”

He landed in a graceful crouch, turning to face the prisoner. The face matched the photo he’d been given during briefing. “I’m here to save you. You’re Donald Anderson, The DARPA chief right?”

“You’re here to save me huh?” Skeptical. Smart man. “What’s your outfit?”

Snake approached hands up in the universal ‘I don’t wanna kill you’ gesture. “I’m the pawn they sent in here to save your worthless ass.”

“Really? It’s true...” Anderson sat back down on his cot and Snake lowered his arms. “You don’t look like one of them. In that case, hurry up and get me out of here.”

Gee thanks, smart way to treat your ticket out of this hellhole. “Slow down. Don’t worry. First I want some information about the terrorists. Do they really have the ability to launch a nuke?”

“What’re you talking about?” the man’s voice was hard and had a panicked edge to it. The voice of a man being asked to talk about confidential information.

“The terrorists are threatening the White House. They’re saying if the don’t accede to their demands they’ll launch a nuclear weapon.”

“Sweet Jesus...”

“Is it possible?” Snake’s voice was harsh, he didn’t have time for stalling.

“It’s possible. They...could launch a nuke.”

“How do they plan to launch? I thought this place was just for keeping dismantled warheads. They shouldn’t have access to a missile.”

Anderson hesitated and Snake narrowed his eyes. “What I’m about to tell you is classified information okay? We’re conducting exercises for a new type of experimental weapon. A weapon that will change the world.”

Oh spare the dramatics, time's ticking. “What?”

The DARPA chief continued on as if Snake hadn’t said anything. “A weapon with the ability to launch a nuclear attack from any place on the face of the earth. A nuclear equipped walking battle tank.”

Snake resisted the urge to sigh. “Metal Gear?” He guessed.

Anderson whirled around, his face surprised. “You knew- How could you know that!? Metal Gear is one of the most secret black projects! You shouldn't have access to that information!”

“We’ve had a couple run-ins in the past. So that’s the reason you’re here at this disposal site?”

“Why else would I be in this God forsaken place?” Snake nodded. Fair point.

“I thought the Metal Gear project was scrapped.”

“On the contrary, it’s grown into a huge joint project between ArmsTech and ourselves. We were gonna use this exercise as raw data and then proceed to mass production.” Anderson paused his face contorting in anger. “If it hadn’t been for the revolution!”

“Revolution?” Snake asked, humoring the man.

“Rex has fallen into the hands of the terrorists.”

That was new. “Rex?”

“Metal Gear Rex. The code name they’re using for the new Metal Gear prototype. They’ve probably already finished arming the warhead they plan to use with Rex. These guys are pros, they’re all experienced with handling and equipping weapons.”

A guard pounded on the door and Snake pressed himself against the wall away from the view of the narrow slit in the door. The guard told Anderson to shut up and Donald flipped him the bird. The guard walked away and Snake relaxed a bit.

“I thought that all nuclear warhead were equipped with safety measures- some kind of detonation code that you have to input.”

“You mean PAL. Yes, of course, there is a PAL. It’s set up so that you need to input two different passwords in order to launch the device. Baker knows one and I know the other.”

“Baker, the president of ArmsTech.”

“That’s right. Each of us needs to enter our password or there can be no launch but...” Anderson but his lip, upset. “They found out my password.”

“You talked?”

“Psycho Mantis can read people’s minds. You can’t resist!”

“Psycho Mantis?” The name sounded familiar. One of the terrorists then?

“One of the members of FOXHOUND. He has psychic powers.”

Snake thought for a moment. If FOXHOUND could really read people’s minds then... “This is bad, it’s just a matter of time before they get Baker’s too and if they get Baker’s password-“

“They’ll be able to launch a nuke anytime. But- there is a way to stop the launch.”

Snake turned around at that, “What?”

“The card keys. They were designed by ArmsTech as an emergency override. Even without the passwords you can insert the card keys and engage the safety lock and stop the launch.”

That seemed like the best bet. “Where are the keys?”

“Baker should have them. Listen- there are three card keys and you’ll need all of them. There are three different slots.”

“Okay, three card keys. Do you know where they’re keeping Baker?”

“I heard a guard say they’re moving him to a place with a lot of electronic jamming, probably the second floor basement.”

“Any other clues?”

“Yeah, They cemented over the entrances but they didn’t have time to paint them. Why don’t you look for the areas where the walls are a different color.”

Anderson stood and handed Snake his level one keycard which he tucked away into his belt. “Okay, I’m going to get you out of here.”

“Wait- you...haven’t heard any other way to disarm the PAL have you? From your bosses or anyone?”

Snake narrowed his eyes. Suspicious. “No.”

Anderson leaned forward, staring into Snake’s eyes and Snake had to stop himself from pushing him back instinctively. “Are you sure you haven’t heard anything?”

“I just said No.” If it came out a little tersely, Snake couldn’t find it in him to care.

“So is the White House planning to give in to the terrorists’ demands?”

Nosy little fucker wasn’t he? “That’s their problem. It has nothing to do with my orders.”

“But...” Snake could swear the man was stalling, “What about the Pentagon?”

“Pentagon?”

The DARPA chief seized up, his knees buckling and his hand flying to his chest, gasping in pain.

“What is it!?” Snake reached out to catch the man as he staggered forward. There was pounding from the connecting cell and a young woman shouting something that Snake couldn’t hear clearly over the sounds of the man dying. Anderson’s hands rested on Snake’s shoulders for a moment before he went limp and crumpled to the floor like a doll with its strings cut. 

Snake knelt and checked his pulse to find that there wasn’t one. Dead. He reached up and called his medical advisor.

“Naomi, the chief! What happened?”

“I-I don’t know! It...it looked like a heart attack but-“

“A heart attack?” Campbell cut in. “No...”

This was too weird. Too conveniently timed to be coincidence. “Colonel! Are you hiding something from me?”

“Absolutely not. Snake, You’ve got to understand. This op is security level red, you need the highest level or security clearance to get access to the complete file.”

Oh bullshit. “You want me to believe that you’re in charge of this op but you don’t have complete access to the file!?”

“I told you! The secretary of defense is in operational control. I’m just here as your support.”

Right.

“Snake, we don’t have time to debate. Get out of there and find President Baker!”


	4. PART THREE: REVOLVER OCELOT

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning, here there be blood and gore.
> 
> —:—

Snake heard the sounds of a fight outside Anderson’s cell and he crept forward to peer through the slot in the door. The field of view was shit and all he could really see was part of a door and the opposite wall. Eventually the noises stopped and footsteps approached. Snake stepped back and a guard walked past. The door slid open.

Snake crept forward, glancing to his left first where he had heard the fight. There, a man was slumped forward, completely naked, his face on the ground and ass in the air.

“Don’t move!” A woman’s voice. Deeper than most but still young. Snake glanced right and saw the barrel of an FA-MAS pointed at him.

Sloppy.

“So you killed the chief? You bastard!” Snake turned to face the woman completely. He could tell by her posture and by the way that she held her gun that she wouldn’t shoot. “Liquid!? No...you’re not.”

Snake crouched low, getting ready to disarm this woman if need be. She flinched but didn’t move her finger to the trigger. “Don’t move!!”

Snake watched the barrel wobble. “Is this the first time you’ve ever pointed a gun at a person?” He asked, unimpressed. “Your hands are shaking.”

In one swift motion, clean and quick, he drew out his Socom and pointed it at her, his hands rock steady. “Can you shoot me, Rookie?”

“Careful! I’m no rookie!”

Snake smirked. “Liar. That nervous glance, that scared look in your eyes...they’re rookie’s eyes if ever I saw them. You’ve never shot a person, am I right?”

Her jaw clenched. “You talk too much.”

“You haven’t even taken the safety off rookie.”

“I told you I’m no rookie!” that itself was another tell. She got riled up too easy.

“You’re not one of them are you.” It wasn’t a question.

She paused, then nodded behind her to the door. “Open that door! You’ve got a card key don’t you?”

“Why?”

“So we can get the hell out of here!” Panic. She had no idea what she was doing.

The door slid open and a team of guards ran in, Snake immediately turned his attention to them. “Looks like we’re gonna be delayed.”

She whirled around and froze. “Don’t think! Shoot!”

She didn’t shoot and Snake rolled his eyes. Rookie. He fired his gun into the one on the left first- a head shot one and done. The right guard was advancing towards the woman and she was still frozen. Snake squeezed a round into his neck, watching the blood spurt forth and spray her uniform, his body falling limp against the door. The center guard fired several bullets towards them in rapid succession, all of them going wide of his target. Before he could reload, Snake put a bullet between his eyes.

Snake glanced over at the woman, her safety was still on and she was staring wide eyed at the guard he had shot in the throat. Around the corner, he could hear more guards running towards the gunshots. “What are you waiting for!? Shoot!”

That moved her into action and she finally took the safety off her gun. “Don’t talk to me like I’m a rookie!” She shot back, indignant. At least she was fucking moving now. Three more guards streamed in.

“I’m telling you- shoot!”

She yelled, holding down the trigger and spraying the door with bullets, too keyed up to aim. By some miracle the guards keeled over before she ran out of ammo.

More guards came, faster this time, and Snake strafed right when the two on his left fired at him. Rookie was reloading and he took out the two on either side of the entryway as she pumped three rounds into the center guards vest, the olive drab blooming into a deep maroon.

There wasn’t time to think as another guard rounded the corner and Snake hit him in the head, bits of bone and brain flying into the next guard’s face and stunning him for a fraction of second that Snake used to take him out as well. Rookie got the next one in a mess of bullets aimed to the face that tore it apart gruesomely, the black mask tearing off with bits of flesh and a fountain of blood.

The next guard came center and got the same treatment before Rookie had to reload leaving Snake, who was in the middle of reloading himself, wide open to the next man’s gun. Moving quickly, he managed to avoid a shot to the chest but was clipped on the arm, grazing off a tiny bit of his suit and the first layer of flesh. He grit his teeth as it burned.

Snake shot the man’s knee cap, watching the guard go down and shooting his head on the way. He tried not to think too hard about the sick satisfaction he got from it. Next were the two who had walked in on it, each getting a round or two to the stomach. Rookie was finally done reloading, her fingers unsteady with nerves.

Three grenades were tossed in and Snake ran to the upper right corner by the door. Rookie stood there, staring at the grenades dumbly before stumbling forward, barely avoiding the brunt of it. Snake fired once, twice, three times to the line of guards from the side, all nice clean head shots while the woman punched them full of holes.

The corridor fell quiet and the Soliton came back to life. The floor was slick with blood and brain and bullet shells. It was over.

Rookie strode forward, her hands shaking even though she tried to disguise it as confidence. She checked the hallway and turned to him, “thanks for the help!” She cockily declared like she was the one who did most of the work which was so far from the truth it was laughable. All she did was spray and pray.

She turned heel and started running, her hips swaying and broadcasting to everyone that she was decidedly Not Male. Snake tried to follow- there was no way she would make it out there.

“Wait!” She didn’t wait. “Who are you!?”

She hit the elevator and turned, holding down the trigger and forcing Snake to take cover behind a pillar. The firing went on for another 3 seconds before it stopped. Snake peeked out to see the elevator door closing.

Before he could move, a wave of vertigo washed over him, the world going swimmy and strange and he swore, for a split second, that he could see a skeletal figure hovering in the air in a tight black body suit and gas mask. 

As quickly as it came it was gone and Snake shook his head. Weird. Maybe something about those Nano machines weren’t sitting right with him? As for the rookie he’d find her again. Girl like that would never stay out of trouble for too long.

Snake called Naomi.

“Naomi! I just had some kind of...hallucination. Is it the Nano machines?”

“No the nano machines are functioning properly.”

“Then what was it?”

“It must have been psychometric interference coming from Psycho Mantis, FOXHOUND’s psychic. Think of it as a kind of mental feedback loop.”

How she said that with a straight face Snake had no idea. “So that was Mantis...”

The call dropped.

Snake took the DARPA chief’s keycard and did a quick once over on the level, picking up some more bullets and a ration which he scarfed down. Better to eat while he could and Naomi had said something about the nano machines being faster at healing wounds- something about glucose giving the machines a boost- when he ate so it was a win-win.

Or it would be if most rations didn’t taste like crap.

Snake hid the empty canister under one of the cots and headed for the elevator, riding it down to the next sub level.

The room looked like it had once been full of tiny prison cells but had since been repurposed into a store room. There was hardly anyone patrolling and Snake methodically checked each room, careful to avoid the spring loaded traps in the floors. He grabbed as much C4 as he could, remembering that the DARPA chief had said something about the doors being cemented over down here.

Snake pressed the C4 to the dark grey panel on the wall to the far left of the elevator in the back and sprinted away, pressing the detonator. There was a satisfactory explosion and a door sized hole was left in its wake.

The hallway it revealed was dark and the Soliton went offline. Snake pressed more C4 on the right most wall and blew away the new concrete before doing the same to the two cemented doors that were revealed. The one at the end held two high security doors and turret guns. 

Not worth it.

Snake went through the other doorway and was greeted with the unconscious body of the ArmsTech president tied to a support column in the center of the room. Snake crept forward, was he already dead?

The man stirred, groaning pathetically. “So you’re alive. You’re the ArmsTech president Kenneth Baker right?” He groaned. “Don’t worry, I’m here to save you.”

Snake reached out to get him down but Baker’s eyes snapped open, panicked. “No!...don’t touch it!”

Snake froze and noticed the thin wires stretching all around Baker like a spider web. Trip wires connected to...

“C4.”

Snake heard the tell tale click of the revolver and jumped back just as the bullet hit the ground where his feet were a second ago.

“That’s right,” a raspy voice murmured from the shadows. “Touch those wires and the C4 will explode along with the old man.” A man stepped into the light, his gun barrel smoking. He was well dressed wearing a tan trench coat over his black vest and dress shirt. He was old, his long hair and mustache completely silver. He paused, looking Snake up and down. “So you’re the one the Boss keeps talking about.”

“And you?” Snake grumbled, sensing a fight.

The man started spinning his revolver around his finger, showy and dangerous and stupid. “Special operations FOXHOUND-“ he paused, lifting his gun into an action hero pose. “Revolver Ocelot.” There was more twirling, the man was clearly trying to impress and was falling short. After several seconds he stopped. “I’ve been waiting for you, Solid Snake. Now we’ll see if the man can live up to the legend.”

Ocelot held his gun in his hands, lovingly stroking the barrel. “This, is the greatest handgun ever made- the Colt Single Action Army.” He spun it up and started loading the barrel. “Six shots, more than enough to kill anything that moves.” More superfluous spinning. “Now I’ll show you why they call me...” he paused, dramatic. “Revolver.”

Ocelot slid his hand gun back into his holster and they made eye contact. A tense couple seconds passed before he shouted “Draw!”

The second the fight started Snake threw a stun grenade and took out his Socom, taking the time Ocelot was stunned to run within sight of him and hit him with three rounds. His body jerked on impact but he didn’t fall- probably Kevlar under that stupid dress shirt.

Ocelot turned and ran, starting a clockwise circuit around his web of C4 and Baker. He was fast for a old guy. Snake ran after him, doing his best to never let him get on the offensive.

Around and around they went, each trying to squeeze off a round in the seconds they could manage. Two of the rounds Snake managed to get off found their mark, hitting Ocelot in the back and slowing the fucker down marginally.

Ocelot paused. “I love to reload during battle,” he crooned, his spent bullet casings falling to the floor. Snake attempted a head shot, missed, and hit him in the shoulder instead. Ocelot started running again, finishing his reload while on the move.

Snake also needed to exchange his magazine out for a new one so he threw another stun grenade and waited for the flash before reloading and taking aim at the old man. Missed.

Ocelot started running again and Snake chased, the only sounds in the room were their frantic footsteps, the firing of their guns, and the whimpers of President Baker.

It was tedious. Run, aim, shoot, dodge, repeat. Slowly but surely Snake was chipping away at the old man, he was slowing down, making more mistakes, taunting more. Finally, Snake shot him in the side and he faltered, taking shelter behind a support beam.

“You’re pretty good,” he sneered, “Just what I’d expect as the man with the same code name as The Boss.” He was reloading, getting his bearings. “It’s been a long time since I had such a good fight.” He twirled the barrel back into place. “But I’m just getting warmed up.”

Ocelot jumped out of his hiding spot and Snake took aim and, all at once, several things happened.

A mirage like blur ran past Ocelot and Snake paused. A trick of the light? No. Ocelot screamed and in a spurt of blood his right hand clattered to the floor, revolver and all, and he was grasping at the gruesome wound, trying to figure out what happened.

Then the wires holding Baker to the central support were cut, the obese man falling to the floor on his face as the C4 went off one after the other. Ocelot hit the concrete wall from the force of the impact, grunting in pain and slumping to the floor. Snake barely had time to brace himself from getting the same treatment, slamming into the opposite wall on his left shoulder. Hard.

He righted himself as Ocelot gritted his teeth, pissed. “Stealth Camouflage! Can’t you even die right!?”

Snake followed his eyes, squinting at the mirage like blur advancing towards Ocelot. It flickered, his body hazing into view.

It looked like something out of a science fiction book. The figure was tall, his body completely encased in tight fitting armor and his face was completely obscured by the silver metal, a triangular opening covered in black glass where his eyes should be and in his hand he held a long katana, wickedly sharp.

Ocelot stumbled to his feet. “You were lucky! We’ll meet again!” He snarled at Snake, running out of the room and clutching his meaty stump of an arm to his body. The cyborg watched him go then turned to advance on Snake. He drew his gun up.

“Who are you!” He demanded, taking the defensive.

“I am like you...I have no name.”

The voice was garbled with static and electronic feedback but it was vaguely familiar. The words ringing with a nostalgia that Snake couldn’t place. Baker stirred on the floor, groaning, and caught the attention of the cyborg.

“T-that exoskeleton..!” He cried, voice weak from pain and wet with blood. The ninja looking thing jerked, his back and tan parts convulsing and he shook as if being electrocuted, screaming in agony as parts sparked all around him.

The stealth camo flickered back on and the cyborg moved faster than a panther, running erratically from the room and disappearing into the compound. Checking to see if the man was truly gone, Snake slowly put his gun away. “Who the hell...?”

Baker was floundering, his old body failing to right itself and Snake helped him up, shoring up his good side to provide stability without exacerbating the man’s injuries. “Can you walk?” He asked.

“Who are you?” Baker looked weary, his face beaten and eyes tired.

“I’m not one of them.” Snake slowly followed the man forward, cutting right to the chase. “The DARPA chief told me he gave the terrorists the detonation code. What about yours?”

The man gingerly lowered himself to the floor. “O-oh I get it! Jim sent you! Yo-your from the Pentagon!” The man sounded hopeful but Snake really didn’t care who he thought he was or who supposedly sent him. He needed an answer _now_.

“Answer the question- what about your code!? There’s no time!”

“I...” Baker lowered his head, his body quivering. “...talked.”

“You what!? Now the terrorists have both codes and can launch any time!”

“It’s not like I didn’t fight!” Baker lifted his cane, pointing at Snake. “I managed to resist Psycho Mantis’ mind probe.”

Snake felt his thigh get tapped with the man’s cane. This was weird. “He couldn’t read you? How’d you do it?”

“Surgical implants in my brain- kind of like a psychic insulation. Anyone who knows these top secret codes has them.”

Snake was skeptical. Why would anyone, even someone as important as Baker and Anderson, have surgery for protection against psychics? Weren’t they supposed to be rare? “Even the DARPA chief?”

“Of course.”

Weird. “But the DARPA chief said Mantis got ahold of his code by reading his mind.”

Baker faltered. “Are you sure you heard him right?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Snake wouldn’t forget something as important as that. Baker was shaking. “In that case, how did they get your code?”

“I...I never had any training on how to resist torture-“ he coughed, blood and phlegm falling to the floor between his knees. The man’s right arm was bent unnaturally under his coat and he was bruised to all hell.

“Looks like he had some fun with you alright.”

“He’s not human!” Baker’s head snapped up, his face scared and angry. “I tell you he loved every second of it!”

Snake wished he could be sympathetic. He wished he could say ‘it’s alright. We’ll fix this’ but he wasn’t here to comfort. Besides, he wasn’t very good at lying. “...your arm?”

“Broken.”

Snake nodded. “Looks like you’re more than even now, his was sliced off.”

“Ha.” Baker didn’t sound even a little amused. “You’re a funny man.” He paused, leaning against the wall. “So...the DARPA chief. Is he okay?”

Snake winced internally at the hope in the old man’s voice. “Dead.”

“What!?” Baker’s head snapped up. “That can’t be!” The walking stick laying on the floor became the overweight man’s weapon, smacking it against Snake’s calf over and over. “You- you know that’s not what you promised Jim! Now you wanna s-shut me up!”

Snake took three more hits until he’d had enough, crouching down and grabbing the cane mid arc. “Calm down! What’s wrong with you?” Snake stared right into the man’s eyes, irritated. “I just told you I was here to save you! I didn’t kill the DARPA chief, he had a heart attack or something.”

Baker scoffed but lowered his cane. “A heart attack? Oh don’t be a fool...”

Snake shook his head, standing up again. It didn’t matter to him if Baker didn’t believe him. “Anyway, the terrorists have both codes now.”

“Those boys are totally insane. They wouldn’t hesitate to launch.”

“I agree.” Snake was looking down at the liver spotted old lump. “But what do they really want?”

“Oh who knows?” Baker sounded tired, fed up with everything. “Maybe they’re like us in the arms industry, just waiting for the next big war.”

Snake wanted to punch this asshole. It wasn’t fair that they got to line their pockets while people like him and Fox got to go out there and get torn apart. Used and disposed of like trash. “Well I’m not gonna let them start a war today. Do you still have the card keys?”

Baker’s head snapped left, staring wide eyed at Snake. “Card keys?”

“Yeah the card keys to override the detonation code. Do you still have them?”

“...no, not any more.”

Fuck! This was bad. “What!? Who does then? Not the terrorists-!”

“No!” Baker interrupted Snake, looking down at his lap. “That woman.”

Snake’s body tensed up. Rookie. “Who?”

“The female soldier who was thrown in prison with me. She said she just joined up as a new recruit. They threw her in prison cause she refused to take part in the rebellion!”

“A new recruit? Then she must be the colonel’s niece!”

Baker’s face was concerned. “I gave her the key. Looks like she managed to break out of here though. Do you think she’s okay?”

Snake sighed. “I’m sure she’s fine. She’s green but tough. She’ll manage. How’d you know she escaped?”

“I was in contact with her by Codec.”

“Codec?” Snake squatted back down. “Do you remember her frequency?”

“O-oh, lets see here...” Baker closed his eyes, thinking hard. “14...15...? Sorry, I forgot. It should be written down somewhere in my pocket.”

Snake pawed around and found the slip of paper. 140.15. “If this doesn’t work is there any other way to stop the launch.”

“Hmm... you should find one of my employees. Hal Emmerich.”

Snake tried not to sneer. He hated working with civilians- especially scientists. They talked too much and asked too many questions. “Who’s that?”

Baker rolled his eyes, “the team leader of the Metal Gear Rex project! A genius at engineering but a bit of an oddball. If there’s anyone who can figure out how to stop Rex from launching it's him!”

Snake really didn’t want to find this weird scientist guy. “Is there any other way to stop it?”

“You’d have to destroy it. Emmerich should know how to take it down.”

Fuck. Next stop, nerd central. “Where is this guy?”

“He’s probably being held somewhere in the nuclear storage building to the north. That’s where he worked.”

Snake turned his back on this guy. Why nukes- why was it _always_ nukes and Metal Gear? Baker mumbled something about nuclear war becoming more and more of a threat as the plutonium from the Cold War got passed around to small countries, facilitating the creation of more nuclear programs and the need for a weapon of overwhelming power. ArmsTech joined with the development of Metal Gear through bribes, keeping the project hush-hush from the world. Disgusting.

“I-it’s just good business...” Baker said, voice laced with doubt. Snake crossed his arms.

“I don’t give a damn about you or your company!”

“Yes, that’s about what I’d expect from a grunt like you.” Baker’s voice was condescending and Snake grit his teeth. Grunt? Who the hell did this guy think he was? “Here, take this- it’s an optical disk with all the data from this launch.”

Snake gingerly took the case, a level two PAN card was taped to the back of it. Baker scoffed. “Oh don’t play dumb, I know you were sent to get this. I hid it from that sadistic maniac while he was torturing me. Make sure to give this to Jim...t-to your boss.”

Snake pocketed the items and rested a hand on his shoulder. “Can you walk?”

“No, go on without me. They got my password, they don’t want me for anything else.”

“Okay but...who- _what_ \- was that ninja...thing?”

“Ninja? That was FOXHOUND’s dirty little secret. An experimental genome soldier-“ he broke into a burst of coughs.

“You know him?”

“You should-“ wheeze. “Ask Dr. Naomi Hunter from FOXHOUND. She knows more than me.”

The fuck? “Y-You’ve got to stop them!” Baker sounded frantic now between his coughs. “If this goes public my company and I are finished!”

Typical. Leave it to a business man to worry about his fucking money while laying beaten and dying in the middle of nowhere. Baker seized up, shaking like crazy.

Snake reached out, surprised, as Baker gasped for air, guttural sounds leaving his mouth. “W-what did you do to me!?”

“Huh?”

“Those Pentagon bastards! They actually did it! The...they’re just using you for...” Baker’s mouth foamed, his head falling back against the wall and he stilled. This was too weird, first the DARPA chief then Baker? 

Snake didn’t believe in coincidences. He tapped his Codec. “Colonel! Now he’s dead too!”

“I...have no idea.”

“Don’t lie to me!” Snake was pissed. He hated it when people didn’t tell him shit. He wasn’t stupid.

Naomi came on. “It looked like another heart attack but-“

“Some kind of poison?”

“Well, there are lots of drugs that can cause heart attacks in large doses but we won’t be able to know for sure without an autopsy!”

“Fuck!”

“Snake,” Colonel sounded unnerved. “I want you and Meryl to work together!”

“Can. I. Trust. Her.?” Snake was tired of this. Tired of everything going to hell every time they sent him out on a mission.

“More than you can trust me...”

Ominous. More people chattered on but something was bothering Snake. “Naomi-“ Mei Ling stopped talking and Naomi came back on. “Who was that ninja guy?”

She said nothing, just breathed.

“A member of FOXHOUND?”

“No.”

Oh bullshit. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, we had no one like that in our unit!” She sounded upset, defensive.

“Is that right?” Snake sneered, disbelieving. Colonel cut Naomi off and told Snake to get moving. Snake hung up without acknowledging it.

He hated liars and it seemed like his “support” team was full of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> —:—
> 
> These are really time consuming to write so if you like it please leave a kudos or comment! Thanks!


	5. PART FOUR: MERYL

Snake closed the ArmsTech president’s eyes and left him there, returning to the room with the tiny storage rooms. A guard was patrolling now, picked up by the Soliton and Snake snuck around him easily, using the level two keycard to open a few more doors.

The room at the bottom right held an assault rifle like the ones the guards carried behind a set of infrared beams. Snake smirked. Time for a smoke.

The Lucky Strikers he had coughed up after the strip search were his favorite. He lit one with ease and took a long draw, exhaling slowly over the infrared beams.

Two stationary, holding at waist level. Snake got on the ground and picked up the rifle and a bunch of ammo. He finished his cig and put the butt away, leaving no trace.

Snake snuck up to the elevator, taking it to the ground floor. Time to find Rookie.

Snake crawled under a tank and dialed his Codec to 140.15 and waited.

“Who’re you?”

Snake thought. He needed this girl to like him. “I was really impressed with the way you busted yourself out of there.”

“The one from the prison...?” She sounded surprised.

“You’re the colonel’s niece. Meryl, right?”

She didn’t seem to be listening. “No...its not him...” she snapped to attention. “Just who exactly are you?”

“I’m the fool that your uncle sent all alone In the middle of this mess.”

“You came by yourself,” disbelief and exasperation. “You think you’re some kind of one man army?”

Snake rolled his eyes. “I don’t need lectures. You’re just like your uncle you know?”

“How do you know my uncle?” Snake wished she’d drop the attitude.

“We go way back.”

“What’s your name?”

Nosy bitch. “My name’s not important.”

“Aha! Could you be Snake? THE Solid Snake!”

Snake wanted to sigh. “That’s what some people call me.”

“The Legendary Solid Snake!? _You!?_ ” Snake wasn’t sure if she was impressed or amused but either way he didn’t like it. “Sorry about before, I wasn’t sure if you were one of the good guys.”

“But I knew you were.”

“How?”

Snake thought about it for a moment. “It’s your eyes. They’re not soldier’s eyes.”

She scoffed, “they’re rookie’s eyes right?”

“No,” how to word this. The way she had looked at the DARPA chief’s corpse and had looked sad and angry all at once. The empathy she had for the guards coming in, her hesitation and shaky hands when faced with having to take another man’s life. She wasn’t a soldier. “They’re beautiful, kind, compassionate eyes.”

She chuckled again, unamused. “Just what I’d expect from the legendary Solid Snake. You trying to sweep me off my feet?”

Snake wanted to grimace. How old did the briefing say she was? 18? She was almost half his age. Hard pass. “Don’t worry, you’ll land back on them once you meet me. The reality is no match for the legend I’m afraid.”

“Oh I don’t believe that.”

Ok. This was getting a little too flirty. Change the topic. “Why did you look so surprised when you saw my face?”

“Because you look just like him- the terrorist leader Liquid Snake! You’re not...brothers or something are you?”

“I have no family.” Snake deadpanned. He was a foster child nearly all his life, passed around from person to person and place to place. No mother, no father, no siblings. Just him.

“So what’s the deal then!?” Meryl asked exasperated.

“Why don’t you ask _him_?” Snake shook his head. “First I want some information. You’ve been involved in this exercise from the beginning. What exactly happened here?”

“I’m sorry.” She didn’t sound sorry. “I was captured along with President Baker right after the attack.”

“That’s okay. But what is this place, I know it’s not just a nuclear weapons disposal facility...”

“Boy oh boy that’s just like them.” Snake didn’t like her tone. “Nobody told you anything did they? Okay. You see, this place isn’t really for disposing nuclear weapons. This base is owned and operated by a dummy corporation of ArmsTech.”

“So this is a civilian base.”

“Right! For the development of Metal Gear. FOXHOUND and the Next-Generation Special Forces were called here for the test launching of a dummy nuclear warhead.”

“Why FOXHOUND?”

“Because! They’re a special ops that is used to handling top secret missions. They figured they could help keep it all hush-hush.”

“But surely we fired nuclear warheads before? What’s so special about this time.”

Meryl was liking being asked questions she could answer. Maybe it was because it meant she knew more about something than her hero. “I heard that this was to be the final test before the formal adoption of the Metal Gear program.”

“Mmm, sounds kinda fishy. What do you think the terrorists want?”

She made a noise that sounded like verbal equivalent to a shrug. Dead end.

“You were captured with President Baker right? That’s when he gave you the detonation override keys.”

“That’s right.”

“Amazing you were able to keep them hidden from the guards.” Flattery has worked this far, maybe it would get her to let slip something useful.

“Well women have more hiding places than men.” Abort. Nope. Not going there. An awkward silence hung in the air for a moment before she changed the subject. “So you’ve met with President Baker huh? How’s he holding up?”

“He’s dead.”

Meryl gasped. Snake got the impression that they had bonded over their shared captivity or something. “What!?”

“Heart attack. Same as the DARPA chief. Mighty suspicious if you ask me. Did they mention being sick to you? Maybe being injected with something?”

“No...not that I heard of.”

Snake shook his head. “I don’t believe in coincidences.”

“Yeah, something funny is going on.”

Snake thought about what else he needed to know. It sounded like he was stuck with finding the engineer guy, maybe Meryl knew how to contact him. “Do you know the person who designed Metal Gear?”

“You mean Dr. Emmerich?”

“Yes. Is he still alive?” 

Meryl seemed confused. Maybe she didn’t know why Snake wanted to find him? “Probably. He should be in the research lab in the second floor basement of the nuclear warhead disposal building north of here. I think they’re forcing him to work on the nuclear launching program.”

“So they’ll need him alive until that’s done anyway.” Good. That bought them a little bit of time.

“So we’d need to do something before he finishes.”

Way to state the obvious kid. “In case we can’t override the nuclear detonation code, I need to ask him how to destroy Metal Gear.”

“You plan to take that thing on yourself?” Awe. She couldn’t believe that he’d be willing to go up against something like that all by himself.

“It won’t be the first time.” Or even the second time, he added to himself. “What’s the best way to get to the building where the doctor is being held?”

“There’s a cargo door leading to the north on the first floor.”

“What’s the security clearance on that door?”

“Five. But don’t worry- I got a level five card!”

“Well, I’ve gotta go save the doctor. You should go.”

“No!” Here we go. “I’m going with you.”

Snake sighed. “No way, you’re still too green. I want you to hide somewhere.”

“I’m not green.” She huffed, irritated at being called inexperienced.

“Oh yes you are! Good luck doesn’t last forever. If you pause for even one second in front of the enemy it’s all over.”

“I...” she sounded embarrassed. “I don’t know what happened. I’ve never had any problems in training but when I thought about my bullets tearing through those soldiers bodies, I hesitated.”

“Shooting at targets is different than shooting at living breathing people.”

She was silent for a minute and Snake sensed a monologue coming on. She started talking about how she’d always dreamed of being a solider, how she’d trained for so long, blah blah blah- hesitation- etc. etc.

“Listen, Meryl-“ Snake cut her off before she could continue on. “Everyone feels sick the first time they kill someone. Unfortunately, killing is the kind of thing that gets easier the more you do it. In war, all of mankind’s worst traits come out. It’s easy to forget what a sin is in the middle of a battle field.”

“But this isn’t a war!” She cried, pleading and desperate. “It’s a terrorist action!”

“You’re just a little jumpy from the combat high,” Snake soothed, his voice low and gravelly. “The adrenaline in your blood stream is starting to thin out, just take it easy.”

“But I learned all about combat high at the academy-“

“Look, just think about keeping yourself alive.”

She was irritated now. “I’ll think about all that stuff once this is over.”

Snake pinched the bridge of his nose. “Fine, let me put this another way.” His voice hardened, threatening and deep and serious. “Stay the fuck out of my way.”

She laughed, her voice humorless. “You’re a real bastard, just like my uncle said.”

“I told you,” Snake grinned slightly, although there was no mirth in it. “The real me is no match for the legends.”

“I guess you were right.” Her voice was sharp. “Alright. I’ll stay here and be a good girl.”

“We’ll link up once I grab the Doctor.”

“Okay, I'll work on getting the cargo bay door open for you.”

Snake terminated the call. That kid was too young to be in a place like this. He didn’t think he’d ever been that young and idealistic but, then again, it had been a long time since he’d been able to see any good in the world at all.

Snake waited for the guard to pass before he shimmied out of his hiding spot and up the stairs. The camera in the corner was panned away from where he needed to go and Snake zipped past, opening a door that he hadn’t been able to get into before.

Inside was a stack of flattened cardboard boxes. He snapped them up and tucked them away. Never hurt to have a portable disguise on hand.

Snake looked out the doorway where a guard was patrolling right in his path. Fuck. He really didn’t want to have to kill him and hide his body if he could help it. Snake studied his pattern- forward three paces, pause, forward three paces, pause- his Codec beeped and he took the call.

“I unlocked the cargo bay doors for ya.” Meryl’s voice chirped through, cocky once again.

“Thanks. Where are you?”

“Where-I-Can-See-Ya.” She taunted. Snake frowned.

“Don’t move around too much.”

“Don’t worry!” Meryl sounded confident. “I’m disguised in this enemy uniform!”

“You won’t be for long with the way you walk.” Snake shot back without thinking.

“What’s that supposed to mean!?” She cried, indignant.

“Oh nothing.”

Meryl shook her head. “Be careful. Those doors have infrared sensors on them. Trip them and the room will fill with poisonous gas.”

“Ok,” Snake patted where he’d tucked away the infrared goggles he’d picked up earlier and, of course, when all else failed there was always his pack of cigarettes.

“Ok, we’ll meet up in the nuclear warhead storage building.” Oh boy.

“Wait! I thought you’d said you would stay put!”

“I changed my mind. Sorry, but this is the only way I can figure out whether or not I’m cut out to be a soldier!”

Snake wanted to strangle something. “Meryl, these guys are professionals- you’re gonna get yourself killed!”

She continued on like he didn’t say anything. “See ya there!”

The call ended and Snake wanted a fucking drink right about now. He hated kids like that. Didn’t have a lick of self preservation in them.

No matter, the guard had finally started to return the other direction and Snake ran past, his feet light on the metal grates. The room to the far left held a mine detector and another ration. Probably a good idea to eat while he had the chance. This particular kit had a granola bar in it.

It almost made it bearable to eat.

Snake threw the casing under some crates and looked at the Soliton. The guard was patrolling back and forth right outside the door. Face the camera, two steps forward, face the room, face the other camera, two steps forward. Again and again. Finally, after another minute of watching the guy move back and forth Snake saw his window of opportunity and took it, darting out and skirting around the man while he was staring out into the room, the rubber soles of his boots near silent on the normally loud metal grates.

Snake made it to the stairs undetected. Small miracles. The guard on the ground floor was no problem, the area he was watching was way too large for just one guy to cover. Snake spotted the airlock and pulled out the infrared goggles.

The lasers here were more difficult to see, they over lapped each other and moved up and down. Carefully, Snake edged past one before stopping and waiting for the next. Nice and easy, step by step.

He stood in front of the final door as it slid open revealing the cold, black, unforgiving night.

Next stop, Dr. Emmerich.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey yeah so I obviously don’t have time to beta these so any spelling/continuity/capitalization errors are mine and mine alone. Someday I’ll go back through and clean this up but today is not that day.


	6. PART FIVE: GRENADES

The night air was bitterly cold and the snow lay undisturbed. Snake narrowed his eyes. Something wasn’t right. He crept forward, his feet crunching into the hard packed snow and he felt this Codec ring.

He answered. The frequency read 140.48, not a familiar number at all.

“Snake! Be careful. There are claymore mines around there. Use a mine detector.”

That voice...where had he heard that fucking voice before? “Who are you!”

“Just call me...Deepthroat.”

Snake narrowed his eyes. “Deepthroat. Like the informant from the Watergate Scandal?”

“Never mind about that.”

“Wait, You’re not using burst transmission. Are you nearby?”

The man ignored the question. “Listen, there’s a tank in front of you waiting to ambush your position.”

Snake’s mind was racing, the voice pulling at places inside himself he wasn’t aware were there. It felt like when you had just lost a tooth and your tongue kept going over the fleshy hole over and over trying to figure out where it went. It was maddening. “Who are you anyway?”

“One of your fans.” The man said cryptically, ending the call.

Fuck.

Snake pulled out the mine detector, watching as a line of claymores appeared on screen. If Deepthroat’s advice was to be trusted, he’d need to get ready for an attack as well.

Snake pulled out a stun grenade and edged around the mines, walking slowly so he wouldn’t trip them. Once he cleared the first cluster, he sprinted forward until the ground started to shake and he heard the the sound of mechanical parts clinking into place and coming towards him with a groan.

A tank roared out from behind a large snowdrift, climbing over the frozen tundra towards Snake at an alarming speed. A deep, slow, accented voice boomed over the loud speaker.

“This is Raven’s territory. Snakes don’t belong in Alaska- I will not let you pass.”

A huge bulking figure popped out of the hatch, his body shirtless and covered in tattoos- most notably a large black bird on his forehead sprawling back past his shaved scalp.

He must be freezing.

Raven fired a shell at Snake and it was only because of his fast reflexes that it hit the snow and not his body. The big man laughed, low and malicious.

“That’s right, you belong on the ground. You should crawl on the ground like the snake you are.”

Snake didn’t dignify that with a response and Raven ducked back into the tank. Snake swapped his stun grenade for a chaff grenade. Best to jam his systems first, forcing them to aim manually.

The chaff went off with a hiss, the Soliton immediately going dead as well. Snake sprinted forward and got the tank within throwing distance. A head popped out of the tank and he threw a stun grenade as they started firing their machine gun. Snake strafed right, bracing himself for the bright flash-bang that was coming. The gunner stopped firing, wiping at his eyes and going back into the cabin.

Snake took his C4 and planted three right beside where the tank was, staying out of range by being close. The gunner moved forward, trying to either get him out or run him over, and Snake ran to the left, hitting the detonator on the way.

The tank’s treads were damaged now and the engine room had to be smokey. They had no other option than to open the hatch and leave themselves vulnerable. Snake switched to regular grenades.

A prefect toss had the grenade landing on the tank’s body, the explosion showering the man with shrapnel. The gunner tried to fire, his machine gun going wide of Snake and another grenade was thrown, this time it hit the man right in the chest, the explosion ejecting him out of the tank and into the snow, his torn up body staining the white landscape with red. One left.

The tank now couldn’t move and shoot at the same time so Snake didn’t wait and ran close, throwing a grenade into the cockpit like a golf ball in a hole.

The man had barely popped his head out, grumbling, when the grenade went off, blowing him apart inside of his tank. Snake would have felt bad if he hadn’t stopped caring about that crap a long time ago. A life is a life- it was either Snake killed the man or the man would kill him.

Snake moved towards the dead man laying in the snow, looting his body and taking his keycard. Where Vulcan Raven was, Snake didn’t know but he was sure he’d see him again soon enough.

Snake kept walking, ignoring the caws of the ravens circling overhead. He tapped the card key against the other bay door and watched as it rose. The inside of the building was dark and Snake took the stairs up to peek through the thick glass window.

There were several turret guns, a few guards, and lots of useful equipment laying around. It wouldn’t be easy to grab it all unnoticed. Snake went back down the stairs and crawled through the narrow opening into the main cargo hold. They had shut it almost all the way to keep out the wind and snow.

No sooner had he moved from his belly to a crouch did Snake get a call. It was the colonel.

“Be careful! You must absolutely not use any weapons in that area!”

Naomi interjected, her voice smug. “I’ve already programmed the nano machines so that he won’t be able to Colonel.”

That was unnerving. Who the fuck did she think she was? “What! What are you talking about?” Snake grumbled, irritated.

“Have you forgotten? That’s where they keep the nuclear warheads. Can’t you see them?”

Snake looked around, there were tons of boxes but they couldn’t all be warheads right? “Yeah, there are lots of boxes piled up here but...are they all warheads?”

The colonel answered his question. “Yes, they’re all dismantled warheads.”

Unbelievable. “They just leave them here? It’s just like President Baker said, totally careless.”

“They’re working on a limited budget,” Snake scoffed. Leave it to Campbell to defend them. “They put on a pretty face for the media but this is the grim reality of it. Nastasha knows lots more about it than I do. Her frequency is 141.52.”

“All of the warheads in those boxes have had their detonation mechanisms removed so there’s no fear of them exploding.” Naomi piped in, her British accent glaringly obvious by the way she said ‘boxes.’ Snake wondered not for the first time what her deal was. Also, if the warheads were disarmed why couldn’t he use his Socom in here? “But if the warheads are broken they might leak plutonium and that would be a serious problem.”

“Snake,” Campbell’s rasping voice was back, as irritating as ever. “Never use your weapons on that floor.”

Well he couldn’t very well use them when Queen Victoria over there had her little nano machines stopping him from pulling the trigger now could he? 

Snake hung up on the colonel. He remembered being told about a Nastasha. She was supposed to be his nuclear weapons consultant for this mission, contacting him remotely from California. He tuned his Codec to her frequency and waited for it to connect.

“This is Nastasha Romanenko,” she said, her Slavic accent heavy and muted. He heard the click of a lighter as she lit and took a drag of her cigarette. God Snake wanted to smoke as well but Naomi probably made it so he couldn’t do that either. “A pleasure to work with you Solid Snake.”

“You’re the nuclear specialist the colonel mentioned?”

“That’s me,” her voice a deep rumble, the voice of a long time smoker. “You can ask me anything about nukes that you want. I’m also a military analyst so I also have an extensive knowledge of military weapons systems as well. We can’t let those terrorists launch a nuclear attack! I hope I can help you stop them.”

Good to know. “You sound like a tough lady.” Snake liked her, she didn’t give him quite as much crap as most people. Also she wouldn’t bitch about him taking a smoke now and then.

She smiled, the pleasure clear in her voice. “Unfortunately I can’t do much to help you from here besides provide you with information. I hope it will be enough.”

Snake allowed his lip to twitch upwards a bit as well. “Another solider here wouldn’t make much of a difference anyway. It’s good to work with you Nastasha.”

“Same here Snake.”

The Codec call ended and Snake peeked our from his hiding place. He wanted to find this doctor guy, blow the Metal Gear up, and go home to cuddle with his newly found wolf-dog pup Kira. She was cuter than all hell.

Snake ran straight up the right hand side, picking up boxes of ammunition for the weapons he had when he saw them, crossing over to the left hand side under the cover of the walkway and taking the stairs up to the elevator. The guards were spread thin here and he could avoid the camera and turrets by staying close to the walls.

Snake pressed the B2 elevator button and took the ride down to put the bullets away and discard the packaging. The doors slid open and Snake went right first, glimpsing a shadowy figure through the thick frosted glass. The doctor? He’d have to take the long way around.

The only door Snake could go through was a room with an electrified floor full of poison gas. Great. Absently Snake wondered whether the security measures were to keep him out or to keep Dr. Emmerich from leaving, either way the situation was far from ideal. He’d have to get some kind of Remote Controlled Missile to take out the panel and a gas mask would also be nice. Snake left the room and went back to the elevator.

Time to see if B1 has anything of use on it.

The room he walked into looked much more like how he expected the offices of this place to look with there being a lowered workspace with multiple desks in the center not unlike a reception station and several rooms on either side. Snake opened the right hand door closest the the elevator just before a guard passed and smirked.

A Nikita Launcher sat right there with two full boxes of missiles next to it. It was too easy, it felt like a trap. Hell, it probably was. Snake gingerly picked the weapon up, checking for mines and bugs.

Clean.

Snake shrugged it off and slipped past the guard and into the elevator. Back to B2 then.

The air lock between the elevator hallway and the gas filled room of death was small and smelled faintly of rotten eggs. Hydrogen Sulfide? Snake loaded the Nikita and took a moment to center himself. He’d have to do this quickly and carefully since he couldn’t afford to linger in that room for any longer than necessary.

He took a deep breath and stepped into the next room. Immediately, he shouldered the Nikita and looked at the tiny view screen. He maneuvered the missile first to the right, then took the next corner fast. A turret detected the movement of the missile but Snake couldn’t really do anything about that so he kept going. The next corner would be tricky. Snake hit the missile with a small boost of speed and let it coast around the narrow opening to the left, barely avoiding a bank of servers. The electric floor's circuit board was to the far left of the room and Snake lined up his shot, pressing the throttle hard and sending the missile into the board. The explosion it made on impact was satisfying.

Snake turned and left the room, gasping in lungful after lungful of sweet clean air. God he hated holding his breath. He fished out his chaff grenades to get past the turrets and prepared to go back in.

Snake ran down the hallway, glancing into each room while holding his breath when he saw something. A gas mask. He threw a chaff and darted inside, scooping the thing up and retreating back to the airlock. This whole operation just got so much easier.

Now wearing the gas mask, Snake took his time going back through the little gas filled cubicles. It was clear that Dr. Emmerich used to have quite a few coworkers but that they were all either dismissed or dead now. Mostly, Snake didn’t find anything useful but he did find some more bullets and chaff grenades which were helpful as he found himself tossing out at least three while traversing the room. He tossed the last one out in front of him, the turret mounted by the main laboratory’s hallway falling dead for a second and Snake pressed his key card to the door.

The airlock here was bigger and beyond Snake could hear what sounded like fighting. God he hoped that he didn’t come all this way for Emmerich to be dead.

The corridor looked like something out of a horror movie. It was long and dark, the lights flickering and the floor covered in slick fresh blood. All along the corridor were men in yellow hazmat suits, slumped in unnatural positions. They all were sporting large gashes, looking like they had been cut down by some kind of blade.

Snake had a pretty good guess as to who their killer was.

Snake walked forward, doing his best not to step on the dead but there was something strange about the place. The blood spatters on the walls and the wounds on the men- they told a story that Snake could almost see unfolding before his eyes. He could almost hear the sounds of them screaming, trying to fire at their assailant and hitting the walls and each other instead. Guns in a narrow place like this were less than useless, especially if your enemy was fast and carrying a blade. Snake continued on regardless, refusing to let the place get to him. He needed to find Dr. Emmerich so he could get this fucking over with.

Snake rounded the corner and saw a man hovering in the air, blood seeping out of a stab wound, an invisible sword skewering him through his stomach as he slid down, revealing the blade with his blood and intestines. In a flash, he was thrown to the side, the man smashing his head into the wall and mercifully dying. Once again, Snake watched the mirage like blur flicker, the Cyborg Ninja phasing into view and stepping into the laboratory.

Well shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternate titles for this chapter were VULCAN RAVEN and GAS FILLED ROOM OF ELECTRIC DEATH.


	7. PART SIX: HAL

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In Which Shit Hits The Fan.
> 
> —:—

Snake stepped into the lab and heard the frightened whimpers of a young man and the sounds of him scuttling across the floor. Snake carefully rounded the corner and saw the mirage like Cyborg Ninja advancing upon a lab coat clad figure- presumably Dr. Emmerich. The man had been backed up into a corner and the Cyborg dropped his stealth camo, raising his blade.

The doctor pissed himself and Snake couldn’t find it in him to think less of the man. He was civilian nerd being cornered by a terrifying murderous robot- most normal people would piss their pants as well.

But Snake was not a normal person and he needed the doctor to be in one piece so he continued into the room. Dr. Emmerich was a young man, probably mid twenties with mousy brown hair and big round glasses. He was staring up at the Ninja, shaking in overwhelming fear.

“Stealth Camouflage,” he managed to get out, his voice not hiding his fear one bit. “Wh-who are you?”

“Where is my friend?” The Ninja’s voice was loud, echoing around the room ominously and the engineer flinched at it. 

“What...what are you taking about?” Snake stepped forward out of the shadows and the scientist whimpered at the footsteps. “Oh what now.’

He glanced over to Snake, the lenses of his bifocals flashing and Snake froze.

Something was happening. His heart rate was picking up like he was afraid but that didn’t make any sense- he was perfectly calm but...

No.

Oh no.

Not _now._

Snake felt a burning sensation on his left ankle, like someone was dragging a hot needle across his skin and he quickly shook it off. He’d felt worse pain before. It wasn’t quite so easy to shake off the realization of what exactly was happening here.

He had found his soulmate and he desperately wished that he hadn’t.

Dr. Emmerich’s eyes widened behind his wire frames, tears pricking at his eyes from the burning pain he was experiencing on his ankle as well. The Cyborg Ninja turned away from the nerd and Snake could hear the smile in his voice as he said “Snake...”

Snake refused to look at the other man, focusing on the cyborg and blocking out everything else. He couldn’t deal with this right now. Not during this mission. “You’re that ninja.”

“I’ve been waiting for you Snake.”

Again, the man said it with such familiarity. It was jarring. “Who are you?”

“Neither enemy nor friend. I am back from a world where such things are meaningless. I’ve removed all obstacles now you and I will battle to the death.”

Snake eyed the cyborg carefully. “What do you want?”

“I’ve waited a long time for this day...” the man sounded, happy? “Now I want to enjoy the moment.”

Emmerich was frozen in fear, watching the exchange and wiping at his eyes. “W-What’s with these guys? It’s like one of my Japanese animes...”

Snake would have face palmed if he wasn’t so focused on not paying attention to the cowering nerd but internally he found himself screaming _why aren't you running?_

Cyborg Ninja also ignored the comment, his attention completely on Snake. “I’ve come from another world to do battle with you.”

Snake sighed. “What is it? Revenge?”

The ninja scoffed. “It’s nothing so trivial as revenge. A fight to the death with you...only in that can my soul find respite.” He brought his blade to bare. “I will kill you or you will kill me. It makes no difference.”

It all clicked suddenly. For the briefest of moments it felt like Snake was back, six years ago, standing on that mine-ringed battlefield holding his knife and asking Grey Fox why? Why did he betray them? He thought they were friends! And Frank has said the same thing then as he did just a second ago. It was impossible and yet...

Dr. Emmerich has managed to raise himself into a crouch, scuttling into a nearby locker, whimpering the whole way.

Snake could almost remember the way Grey Fox rolled his eyes when he said “hah! Fine, he can watch from in there.”

Snake felt his hackles rise, an uncharacteristic surge of protectiveness coursing through his veins. “I need that man, keep your hands off of him!”

“Then make me feel it. Make me feel alive again!”

Snake ran forward and punched him in the stomach, two quick jabs then a high kick to prevent him for landing a hit on him in return. Fox stumbled back and Snake struck again, like a cobra. The two punches landed but the Cyborg caught his leg, his fingers wrapping around his still tender ankle and pushing him away. Snake hissed and regrouped, watching as his foe put the long katana away.

“Good, now we fight like warriors do. Hand to hand. Only a fool trusts his life to a weapon.”

Grey Fox flipped into the air and Snake ducked behind a half wall in the center. The other landed and Snake kicked him in the back, hard, before turning and running away, letting the Ninja come to him.

The cyborg gave chase, moving faster than natural and jumping over the fallen desk chair. Snake caught his hand as it tried to punch him in the face and he turned it sideways, rushing forward and jamming it back at his opponent. Fox pulled his arm back and Snake delivered a crushing right hook to the man’s abdomen, winding him.

It went on like that for a while, Snake landing a few hits in between his strategic sprinting. He stayed towards the center, not letting himself get cornered like Emmerich did. Finally, the Ninja halted, letting Snake catch his breath.

“That’s good Snake...” The man sounded so happy, his voice laced with pride. His stealth camo flickered back on. “Now hurry up and catch me.”

Thermals. He had to still give off a heat signature. Snake grabbed the goggles out of his belt and pulled them on.

Grey Fox had darted to the lower right hand corner and Snake gave chase, landing three clean hits on him. Then he phased into the upper left hand corner. It was tedious but easy, the man not even fighting back a little as Snake gave chase. It was almost like he wanted to lose.

Grey Fox’s stealth camo shorted out, sparking wildly and Snake pulled the googles off, blinking in the light. Now the ninja was walking towards him slowly and Snake took up a fighting stance.

A phase, Snake turned on instinct, and kicked, hitting him in the back. “More...” Frank groaned, making Snake wince.

So he did want to lose.

Snake let Fox walk towards him, preforming the same maneuver again once he was close. Each time Fox would groan in pleasure, enjoying the reminder that he could still feel- even if all he was feeling was pain.

It was sad.

Finally Snake hit him hard, his boot clipping the jaw plate of the helmet and Fox froze. Snake backed away.

Frank let out an inhuman scream, his suit glowing blue and rattling. He kept screaming to hurt him more. More. Snake tried to kick him again but it burned to touch the blue. He recoiled and waited. For a split second, the blue would fade and he could land a single hit but mostly Snake just followed him around, watching his friend and mentor literally fall apart.

One hit. Then the sparking stopped. Cyborg Ninja was on his hands and knees, shaking. “I felt that Snake. Do you remember me now...?”

Yes. “But how can you be alive? You were killed in Zanzibar.”

Frank stood slowly, getting ready to say something when he started shaking. His body was being wracked with seizures, his muscles trembling and he was screaming. Like the DARPA chief. Like President Baker.

“...Th-the medicine...” Fox spat out.

“Not this again!” Grey Fox fell to his knees and started to slam his head against the metal floor, over and over and over again. It was disturbing. “What’s happening?” He pleaded. He just wanted to help. He just wanted Frank to rest.

“..I-I-I am losing my-self...”

With one last great slam to the floor, Frank stopped moving. The room was quiet.

The locker cracked open, “I-is it over?” Hal asked. Frank threw his head back and screamed, louder than ever- Pure agony in his voice- and the locker slammed shut again.

Grey Fox ran haphazardly out of the room and Snake could do nothing to stop it. The screams faded down the hall and with slightly shaky hands, Snake called the colonel.

“Colonel! That Ninja- it’s Grey Fox! That’s Grey Fox, no doubt about it!”

“Ridiculous!” The Colonel sounded unnerved. “You of all people should have know he died back in Zanzibar.”

Low blow. Snake opened his mouth to retort but Naomi beat him to it. “No. He should have died, but he didn’t.”

Snake heard the Colonel whip around in his padded desk chair. “What!?”

Naomi took a deep breath. “It happened before I joined FOXHOUND’s medical staff. They were using a soldier for their gene therapy experiments.”

“I never heard that!” Campbell sounded angry. Upset that something like that might have been happening under his watch without his knowledge.

“It was just after you retired. My predecessor Dr. Clark was in charge.”

Snake’s head snapped up. He knew Dr. Clark. She had been running tests on him since he was a toddler. “Dr. Clark?”

“Yes, she started the gene therapy project.”

“And where is she now?” Snake grit out, his head swirling with emotion.

“She was killed in an explosion in her lab two years ago.”

“Then what about this soldier?”

“Apparently for their test subject they decided to use the body of a soldier who was recovered after the fall of Zanzibar.”

“Grey Fox...” Snake remembered his friend laying there, eyes closed and body relaxed, his breathing slowing as he drifted off. Content to be reunited with the one he loved. If Snake had known...

“But Grey Fox was already dead!” The Colonel sounded confused.

“Yes but they revived him. They fitted him with a prototype exoskeleton and kept him alive and drugged for 4 years while they experimented on him like a plaything!”

Snake wanted to be sick. Poor Frank...well at least Naomi sounded just as angry and disgusted by it all as he felt.

Colonel put it into words for all of them. “That’s the sickest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“They used him to test all sorts of gene therapy techniques.”

Snake grit his teeth. She knew about this. She knew all along that inside that suit was Frank. “Naomi. Why didn’t you tell us about this sooner!?”

“Because it’s confidential information.”

Bullshit. You didn’t hide something like that because it was ‘confidential.’ “Is that the only reason?”

Naomi didn’t say anything and the colonel cut in. “Naomi, what happened to Gray Fox after that?”

“The records say he died in that explosion.”

“I see.” The Colonel paused. “But even if that Ninja is Grey Fox the question is why?”

Snake remembered how Fox had asked him for pain. Said he was loosing himself. “From what I could tell he didn’t know who he was.”

“Are you saying that he’s just some mindless robot?”

Snake shook his head. “No. But he seems intent upon fighting me to the death. I’m sure we’ll meet again.”

“So you’ll fight again.” Naomi’s voice was ice. “Until you kill him?”

Snake made a small noise, “I’d rather not but...maybe that’s what he wants.”

Naomi didn’t say anything to that and Snake terminated the call. Snake took a deep breath. One down, one to go.

Snake strode over the the locker, staring at it. His emotions were a mess and so were the man’s in the locker. It made Snake’s head hurt. “...how long are you gonna stay in there?”

“Uhh...” Snake could almost see what he was doing. Curling up and pressing himself as far away from the door as he could. “Are you...are you one of them?”

“No I’m not. I always work alone.”

“Alone? Are you an otaku too?”

Snake pinched the bridge of his nose. How did that man say that- say something so ridiculous and endearing and _mean_ it- that despite everything, despite how _stupid_ it sounded Snake found himself smiling instead wanting to punch the little dweeb in the face.

“Cmon, get out. We can’t stay here forever.”

We? Snake didn’t let himself think of the implications of what he’d just said as the door finally slid open and Dr. Emmerich- Hal- slowly lifted his head, his eyes taking in Snake’s boots and following his legs up until they were staring at one another.

Oh god. He really was his-

No. We aren’t doing this right now.

“It’s true...Your uniform is different from theirs.”

“You’re the Metal Gear chief engineer Hal Emmerich right?”

The man unfolded his spindly legs and stood up, his glasses slipping down his nose in the process. “You know me?”

“I heard about you from Meryl,” Snake corrected. Hal pushed his glasses back into place.

“Oh, so you’re here to rescue me?” His voice was cautiously hopeful and Snake frowned. Did he always wear his heart on his sleeve like that?

“Sorry,” Snake found he meant that. “But no. There’s something that I gotta do first.”

“Oh,” Hal looked away, his cheeks reddening slightly. “Well at least you’re not one of them.”

Dr. Emmerich started limping over towards his desk, favoring his right leg. “Are you hurt?”

Hal flashed him a look that screamed ‘you know damn well why I’m limping’ but it passed in an instant and he picked up his desk chair. “I’m okay. I just...twisted my ankle a bit trying to get away.”

A lie but Snake wasn’t about to call him on it. “Well if that’s all it’s nothing to worry about.” The silence stretched between them, thick and uncomfortable. Snake hesitated. What was he supposed to say?

“I need to ask you something...” Snake stopped. His Codec. The colonel could be listening and after what happened to Grey Fox...no. Not again. “I...need information on Metal Gear.”

Hal’s face was surprised, then it fell. He had been expecting something else. Snake wanted to reach out, he wanted to rest his hand in his shoulder and say ‘it’s for your own good that I’m doing this’ but he couldn’t so he waited. Hal recovered fast enough. “Metal Gear?”

“Yeah, what’s Metal Gear really designed for?”

Hal tilted his head confused. “It’s a mobile TMD. It’s designed to shoot down nuclear missiles- only for defensive purposes of course.”

Anger surged through Snake and he grabbed Hal’s lapels. The thing was, he believed him. He knew that all Hal had _designed_ Metal Gear for was exactly what he said and that they have been using him this whole time. Hal was being played for a fool all because he was too naive to see the big picture. “Lies! I already know that Metal Gear is nothing more than a nuclear equipped walking death mobile!”

Hal’s eyes were wide, his hands shaking. Oh no. Snake let him go, taking his hands back. Jesus, why can’t Snake just- why were people always reading him wrong. Hal corrected his glasses, taking a deep breath. “Nuclear? What are you talking about?”

Snake crossed his arms, leaning against the cubical. “The terrorists are planning to use Metal Gear to launch a Nuclear Missile and you’re telling me that you didn’t know.”

“They’re gonna put a dismantled Warhead into Metal Gear’s TMD missile module?”

“No, from the beginning the purpose of this exercise was to test Metal Gear’s nuclear launch capability using a dummy nuclear warhead. The terrorists are just continuing the work you started.”

Hal floundered. Eyes darting back and forth wildly. “No, you’re wrong!”

“I heard it directly from your boss Baker.”

“No...” Hal’s mind was reeling, the confusion seeping into Snake’s consciousness like a draft. “A nuclear warhead on Rex?”

Snake sighed. He knew this feeling well- the feeling of having the rug pulled out from under you. He just was used to it by now. “So you really didn’t know...”

“No. All the armament was built by a separate department and the president personally supervised the assembly of the main unit.”

Baker.

“I-I was never told what exactly they armed Rex with. I only know that it’s equipped with a Vulcan cannon, a laser, and a rail gun.”

“A rail gun you said?”

“Yeah,” Hal lowered himself into his desk chair and Snake sat on the work table. “It uses magnets to fire bullets at extremely high velocities. The technology was originally developed for the SDI system and later scrapped. We were successful in miniaturizing it in a joint effort between ArmsTech and Rivermore National Labs. The rail gun is on Rex’s right arm.” Hal was in his element and normally Snake hated listening to professionals blather on and on about their work but with this guy it was different. Snake _liked_ listening to this guy talk and that scared the crap out of him.

“Metal Gear’s main function is to launch nuclear missiles. Are you sure you’re not forgetting something?”

Hal thought. “It’s true that Metal Gear has a Missile module on its back that can carry up to 8 missiles but are you saying it was originally meant to carry nuclear missiles?”

Snake watched the scientist kneed at his forehead, probably getting the same headache Snake had been dealing with for several minutes. “Yeah, but that’s not all I think. If Metal Gear fires only standard nuclear missiles then they should already have all the practice data they need.”

They were quiet and suddenly Hal stood up. “No! Could it be...” Hal paused. “Metal Gear’s co developer Rivermore National Labs was working on a new type of nuclear weapon. They were using NOVA and NIF laser nuclear fusion testing equipment and supercomputers.”

“So they developed a new type of nuclear weapon in VR testing labs huh?”

“Yes but you can’t use virtual data in the battlefield, you’d need actual launch data.” Hal walked over to a bank of servers off to the left hand side of the room and Snake followed. “These are some of the supercomputers. If you link them up you can test everything in a virtual environment but it’s all just theoretical.”

“So this exercise was designed to test the real thing?”

Hal looked shell shocked, horrified. “What did our president do? If the terrorists launch that thing...” he fell to his knees, tears dripping down his face. “I’m such a fool! It’s all my fault...”

Snake walked over and crouched down, a hand coming to Hal’s back as he let the man tell him about his family. How his grandfather was part of the Manhattan Project and how his father was born the day the US dropped a bomb on Hiroshima. Snake didn’t know what to say. Maybe the best thing he could do right now was to just listen. Hal wiped his tears away. “Three generations of Emmerich men...I swear we must have the curse of nuclear weapons written into our DNA.”

Hal was still crying and Snake put his hands on his shoulders. “That’s enough crying. Pull yourself together! Where is Metal Gear? Where on this base are they keeping it?”

“Rex is in the underground maintenance base.”

“And where is that?”

“North of the communications tower but it’s a long way there.”

“And the emergency override system is there too?”

“Yeah, it’s in the maintenance base’s control room. You’d better hurry, if they were planning a launch from the start their ballistic program is probably finished. They...haven’t called for me in a few hours so they must not need me.”

Snake frowned. He couldn’t leave Hal here, not if they could kill him at any time. “Meryl’s got the detonation keys, we’ll link up with her there.”

Hal nodded. “If we can’t override the launch we’ll need to destroy Rex. I’ll show you the way.”

Snake watched him limp forward and he shook his head. “On that leg of yours? You’d just slow me down.”

“But you’ll need me if you’re gonna destroy Rex.”

True. But...

“I don’t need you there physically, I just need your brain.”

Hal pushed his glasses up. “I created Rex. It’s my right- my duty- to destroy him.”

Snake stared into the man’s eyes. They were a bright, beautiful, intelligent, silver and in that moment his heart _ached_ for the man. He hadn’t asked for this. He had come into this exercise wanting to use his knowledge for good but instead... “If you get the chance, I want you to escape. When the coast is clear I’ll contact you by Codec.”

Hal wrapped his arms around himself. “How am I supposed to escape from an island?”

Fair point. “Okay, then I want you to hide somewhere and keep me informed. You know this place well don’t you?”

A nod. “Course I do. A-and don’t worry, I’ve got this...” Hal’s hand lifted up to his coat, pressing what Snake thought had been a pin of some kind. Instantly, Hal disappeared into a shivery mirage shaped blur- just like Grey Fox had done. Stealth Camo. “It’s the same technology as that Ninja. FOXHOUND was going to use them but...” he sighed. “With this I’ll be fine, bad leg and all.”

This was better. Now at least he had a chance. “Good, but I want Meryl to look after you too.”

Snake pressed his Codec receiver, tuning into Meryl’s frequency. “Meryl, the engineer’s okay.”

“That’s a relief.”

Tell him about it. “I want you to look after him. Where are you now?”

“Very close.” Just out of range, Snake heard a guard shout soothing suspiciously like ‘there she is!’ and Meryl gasped. “Oh shit! They spotted me!”

Her line went dead. Snake knew she must have triggered an alert and alerts made the Codec act all finicky. “Meryl! Are you still there!”

No response. Snake ended the call.

“Something’s wrong,” Snake looked over at the scientist who had sat back down.

“Did- did you hear something?” He paused. “Wait, did they say something about a female soldier?”

“Yeah, do you remember what she looked like?”

“She was wearing the same green uniform as those terrorists but...” Hal blushed slightly. “She has this...cute way of walking. She kinda swayed her hips a lot.”

Snake smirked. “Sounds like you were really looking,” he teased.

Hal ignored the remark. “If she’s disguised as the enemy, you’ll have to contact her when she’s alone huh. There’s...only one place where we can be sure she’s by herself.”

Snake didn’t like where this was going. “And where’s that?”

Hal gave him a pleading look that said ‘don’t make me say it.’ “Don’t be so dense...” Hal unclipped his ID badge off of his lanyard and handed it to Snake. “Here, take my security card- it’s level 4.”

Snake traded it out, handing Hal the one he looted from the guard their fingers touched and Snake suddenly remembered...

“You’re not in pain are you?”

“What?” Hal was very confused. Snake stepped forward, his hand coming up to Hal’s shoulder.

“You feel okay? Nothing’s...bothering you?”

“What’s wrong? Getting all friendly all of a sudden?”

Snake winced. “N-nothing,” they made eye contact. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“You’re strange.”

Pot calling kettle babe. “I’m a little nervous, everyone else I’ve saved suddenly dies.”

Hal stepped back, unnerved, and tried to play it off as a joke. “You’re bad luck.”

“Forget it Doctor.”

A wince. Did he not like being called that? “Call me...Otacon.”

“Otacon?” Snake tilted his head.

“It-“ Otacon blushed. “It stands for Otaku Convention. An otaku is a guy like me who likes Japanimation. Japan was the first country to successfully make bipedal robots, they’re still the best in the field of robotics.”

Snake vaguely remembered some weird show about robots that aired late at night in the 80s when this guy would have been a kid. Police astronauts or something along those lines. “And Japanese cartoons played some part in that?”

“It did. I didn’t get into science to make nuclear weapons you know.” Snake did. “I became a scientist because I wanted to make robots like the ones in those animes. Really- it’s true!”

Snake didn’t know if he wanted to laugh or punch this guy in the face. Maybe both. God he was such a _nerd_. “Sounds pretty childish to me.”

“You’re right. We have to take responsibility. Science has always thrived on war- the greatest weapons of mass destruction were created by scientists who wanted to be famous.” Hal but his lip and Snake could see the man steeling himself. Pulling his pain into a driving determination. “But that’s all over now. I won’t take part in murder anymore.”

Good but dangerous thinking for a guy who probably doesn’t even know how to fire a gun. “Listen. All I want from you is information.”

“Sure, I know everything about this whole base. Ask me anything about Rex or the facilities...” Otacon adjusted his glasses again. “Also, with this Stealth Camouflage I can sneak in and out of the armory and mess hall. If you need ammo or rations, just tell me and I’ll bring them to you.”

He activated the camo, shimmering out of view. “I’m on frequency 141.12. See you later.” Hal ran off, not limping anymore. Snake figured it was likely that because his own soulmark has finally stopped throbbing and had faded to dull ache, that Otacon’s had as well.

Snake ran a hand over his face. Hopefully that boy knew what he was doing...


	8. PART SEVEN: THE LADIES ROOM

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I the only one who is uncomforatable by the way this game tries to force a romance between Meryl and Snake? Like- canonically Meryl is literally 18 and Snake is 32. That’s only two years off from being _twice her fucking age!_
> 
> Also, if you’re wondering Otacon is 25 during Shadow Moses.
> 
> —:—

Snake stood in the lab for a moment, collecting his thoughts.

Holy shit.

 _Holy Shit_.

What the hell was he going to do about Hal? Snake shook his head. He knew that there was nothing he _could_ do to help him. If the colonel found out he’d found his soulmate...

Snake wanted to trust the man but he’d been burned too many times. Ultimately Campbell worked for the government and Snake doubted they had his happiness in mind. He imagined what they did to Grey Fox’s lover- he imagined some FOXHOUND sniper being ordered to assassinate Hal. Imagined finding the nerd dead and...

Stop it. There is a job to do. If they both survived this ordeal then he could worry about protecting his mate.

Snake left the lab, running back down the hallway of corpses and into the air lock. He pulled his gas mask over his face and readied another chaff grenade. The air filled with debris and Snake ran down the office cubicles, checking to see if he missed anything.

Night Vision Goggles. Sweet.

Snake tossed another chaff and went back to the elevators, taking it up to B1. Snake peeked into the reception area, noting the guard patrolling was walking in a decidedly feminine way. Meryl?

Snake snuck up behind her and waited for her to turn, his gun ready just in case he was wrong. She turned and gasped, glancing left and right before bolting towards the elevators. Snake gave chase.

Snake rounded the corner just as Meryl ducked into the woman’s room to the right of the elevator. Fuck. Snake followed, less than twelve seconds behind her.

He entered and there was no one. Did she go into one of the stalls? He peeked into each one, finally finding a hastily shucked guards uniform in the last one.

“Freeze!” Snake resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Of course. “That’s the second time I’ve been able to sneak up on the legendary Solid Snake.”

When was the first time? When she pointed a gun at him with the safety still on in the prisons, her hands shaking? Snake hardly counted that as being “snuck up on” and counted this even less but whatever made her happy. Snake turned around and gave her a look up and-

Nope. Not down. No pants.

“So you’re Meryl? There’s no way you could pass as man for very long.”

“What do you mean?” She cried, indignant. “And what do you think you’re doing? Men aren’t allowed in here.”

Snake rolled his eyes. “I had no idea you were so feminine.”

“This is no time to hit on me Snake!”

Uhhh...What? What about that was him ‘hitting’ on her? Snake shook his head and turned away, walking towards the center of the room. Behind him, he could hear Meryl following him closely.

“Besides,” she sounded resigned. “It’s a waste of time. When I joined up they gave me psychotherapy to destroy my interest in men.”

Well that was...sad. Snake may not have been interested her like that but no one deserved to have their sexuality suppressed like that. Besides, it sounded pretty sexist to him. Why was she the only one to have this done to her? Either way, Snake didn’t have time to play therapist. “Same smart mouth. You’re Meryl alright. Are you hurt?”

“Not yet. After all, I was disguised as a genome solider.”

Snake glanced down for a second before locking eyes with her again. Why the fuck wasn’t she wearing pants? “Why’d you change? You’d be a lot better off dressed like one of them.”

“I got tired of disguising myself.” Uhhh...What? Snake fixed her with a look and she looked away. “Truth is...the uniform smelled like blood.”

Snake noticed a flash of white on her shoulder and chanced a look. Was that...a tattoo of the old FOXHOUND logo? “What’s that mark?”

“Huh?” She followed his eyes. “Oh this? It’s a paint tattoo. It’s not real. I was a fan of FOXHOUND way back- when guys like you and my uncle were in it. None of that ‘gene therapy’ like there is today. You guys were real heroes.”

Snake scoffed. “There are no heroes in war. All the ‘heroes’ I know are either dead or in prison. One or the other.”

She leaned forward, her eyes sparkling. “But Snake! You’re a hero. Aren’t you?”

Snake remembered a time when he was kinda like her. When he had idealistic notions about peace and war. But then he grew up and the grim reality set in.

Part of him hoped that it would never happen to this kid.

“I’m just a man who’s good at doing what he does- killing. There’s no winning or losing for a mercenary. The only winners in war are the people.”

“That’s right! And you fight for the people!”

“I’ve never fought for anyone but myself. I’ve got no purpose in life, no ultimate goal. It’s only when I’m cheating death on the battlefield that I feel truly alive.”

Meryl grimaced. “Seeing other people die makes you feel alive huh? You love war and want it to never stop?” She was getting upset now. “Is it the same with all great soldiers throughout history!?”

Snake didn’t feel the need to answer. “Why didn’t you contact me?”

“My Codec was broken!”

“Is that all?”

She turned away from him. “Shouldn’t you just be happy we met up like this!? How did you recognize me in disguise?”

This again? It’s not like she made any attempt to hide being a woman. “I uh...never forget a lady.”

“So there’s something about me you like huh?”

“I didn’t mean it like that. I meant that you’re young. The bitterness hasn’t set in yet like it has for most of the others here.”

“First it’s my eyes, then it’s my walk, now it’s my age! What’s next!?”

“On the battlefield you never think about what’s next.” Meryl shook her head at that and started to pull her pants on.

Oh thank god.

“So Snake, how are negotiations going?”

Snake scoffed. What negotiations? “No progress.”

“So it’s all up to you huh?”

“Somebody’s got to stop them from launching a nuclear missile.” And if it wasn’t him, there would just be someone else. Who did it was of no consequence as long as it just got done.

“There are two ways.” Meryl put a hand to her hip. “Either we destroy Metal Gear or-“

“We override the detonation code. You got the card keys from Baker?”

“Card keys...” Meryl paused and reached into her cleavage, pulling out a bright yellow card. “You mean this?”

“Where are the others!? There should be three keys!”

Meryl frowned. “This is all I got!”

Snake snatched the card, putting it away. Great. More hoops to jump through. “Where could the other two be?”

“I have no idea but they must be somewhere. If we can’t find them we’ll have no choice but to destroy Metal Gear.”

And if they had to destroy Rex then Snake needed Otacon. Damn it! So much for trying to keep him safe. “Metal Gear is in an underground maintenance base to the north.”

Meryl leaned forward, her eyes eager. “Take me too! I know this place better than you do!”

“You’ll just slow me down. You don’t have enough battle experience.”

“I won’t slow you down! I promise.”

Snake shook his head. “And what if you do?”

“Then you can shoot me.”

Hah. Funny. “I don’t like to waste bullets.”

“Got it. I’ll be careful.”

Meryl walked over to the mirrors, staring at her reflection. “You know, I don’t use makeup the way other women do. I hardly ever look at myself in the mirror. I’ve always...despised that kind of woman.” Snake could hear the lie. She was insecure. “I’ve always dreamed of becoming a soldier...But I was wrong. It wasn’t really my dream. My father...he was killed in action when I was younger.”

“So you wanted to follow in your father’s footsteps?” Snake knew the principle but never really understood it, having no parents of his own.

“Not really, I thought that if I became a soldier I could understand him better.”

Snake narrowed his eyes. Did she think this was a game? “So are you a ‘soldier’ yet?”

“I thought I was until today but...now I understand.” Her eyes were downcast. “Truth is, I was just afraid of looking at myself. Afraid of having to make my own decisions. But I’m not gonna lie to myself any more. It’s time I took a long hard look at myself. I want to know who I am and what I’m capable of- I want to know why I’ve lived the way I’ve lived until now. I want to know...”

She trailed off, tears running down her face, and Snake’s patience ran out. He pulled out his Socom. “Take a good look, you won’t get another chance for a while. And why don’t you wash your face while you’re at it.” He took the safety off his gun and Meryl ran some water over her face. “This isn’t a fucking training exercise- our lives are riding on this. There are no heroes or heroines- if you lose, you’re dead. That’s it.”

“Yeah...” her voice was hard, the voice of someone who was being told something she didn’t like. Snake glanced over to where he had set her gun down.

“Is that FA-MAS functional?”

She turned around. “Unfortunately it’s out of ammo.”

Snake glanced down. There was a semi automatic strapped to her waist. “Where’d you get that Desert Eagle.”

Meryl drew the gun, loading it. “This? I found it in the armory. It’s a 50 caliber action express. There was a Socom pistol too but I chose this.”

Of course she did. “Hmm, So I got the leftover huh?” He looked at the way she was holding it, how it was dwarfing her dainty hands. “Isn’t that gun a little big for you?”

“Don’t worry! I can handle it!” She seemed agitated at the insinuation.

“C’mon,” Snake held out his Socom. It would fit much better in her hands, less chance of her dropping it from the recoil. “Use my 45.”

“Listen, I’ve been using a gun like this since I was 8 years old! I’m more comfortable with it than I am with a bra.”

Whatever. If she wanted to keep the fucking gun then fine by him. He was comfortable with everything.

She reloaded the pistol, taking two seconds longer than it would have taken Snake. “Listen, If were gonna go to the north, we’ll have to go through the commander’s room on this floor. The overland route is blocked by glaciers. The door to the commander’s room is security level 5. This card will open it.” She pulled a PAN card out of her cleavage, handing it to Snake who tried not to think about why it was warm and slick to the touch. He tucked it away. “It was inside the pocket of the uniform I was wearing.”

“Looks like he must have been guarding something important.” Snake didn’t know why he was allowed to. The stupid fucker got his ass kicked by an unarmed teenager and was laying bare assed on the floor last Snake saw.

“Okay let’s go! I know this place better than you do. I’ll be point man, follow me.”

She didn’t give him time to object, running out of the room and into the hallway. Snake rolled his eyes and followed her outside.

“That’s strange,” Meryl was looking around, tucking her red hair back behind her ear. “There’s no guard.”

Ominous is more like it. Snake listened to the halls. The faint music he had been hearing since he’d met Hal was gone. “What happened to the music?”

“I’ll keep a look out. Make sure you’re ready okay?”

Little girl, he was always ready. Using the level 5 card he popped into the unguarded rooms off of the secretarial station. Another cardboard box and a packet of Diazepam. Could come in handy if he ever needed to use a sniper rifle.

He rejoined Meryl’s in the hallway and dialed the colonel’s number into his Codec, telling him he’d found his niece. Snake hesitated momentarily before steeling himself. He needed to know.

“Colonel, is this transmission being monitored by the military?”

“Of course.”

Shit. Then he couldn’t risk talking to Otacon about what happened over Codec and he wasn’t keen on discussing it face to face either. He never knew who was listening. “I get it. All the world’s a stage and we're merely players right?”

“Yes but even players can influence the play.”

“Yeah,” Snake sighed. “I just hope we can prevent it from having a bad ending.”

They cut the line.

Snake started to type in the frequency for Hal but he stopped halfway through it.

Keep it together Snake. Just because you’re worried doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to call him.

Snake turned back to Meryl.

Time to go.


	9. PART EIGHT: PSYCHO MANTIS

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: mentions of child sexual abuse, PTSD, war, and violation of personal space inside.
> 
> —:—

Snake and Meryl went through the door together, the eerie lack of guards setting them on edge. No sooner had they caught slight of the Captain’s Quarters did Meryl stop, a hand coming up to her forehead.

“Ugh, my head! Ooohh-“ she fell to her knees. Snake went to her side, concerned.

“Are you okay?”

Her eyes went glassy and she stood up, her voice sounding strange. “Cmon Mr. FOXHOUND. The commander is waiting.”

Snake watched as she gestured to the door, holding her hand out in a ‘after you’ gesture. He slowly skirted around her, his eyes narrowed.

The commander’s room was dated, the dark wood paneling, the green marble floors, and the decor all looked like something out of the 70s. It reminded Snake of the office building he was forced to walk through as a kid before they took him to Dr. Clark and later Dr. Ficco in the basement.

Needless to say they weren’t among Snake’s favorite childhood memories.

He moved into the room, eyes darting from hiding place to hiding place expecting an ambush. Behind him, Meryl cried out- her body seizing and head falling back. With shaky hands she drew her gun out of its holster, like she was fighting some invisible force, before she snapped into a shooting stance, the gun pointed directly at Snake.

“Snake...” her voice was echoey and weird, like it had been in the hall. “Ohhhh, do you like me Snake?”

Snake took a step back, as Meryl ambled forward. Behind her, a figure flashed into view clad in all black and hovering several feet in the air. Snake instinctively drew his gun and he disappeared again. “What the-“

Meryl was close now, her eyes glazed and foggy. “Oh do you like me? Hold me Snake!” It still sounded echoey, the tone of her voice euphoric. It made Snake uncomfortable.

“What is wrong with you?”

“Oh hurry!” Snake continued to back away, getting closer to the desk with every step. “Hurry! Make love to me! Oh Snake! I want you...”

The figure was back, closer now, a black gas mask obscuring his face. The strange echo to Meryl’s voice sounded just like words spoken through a filter. Like she was just a microphone the man was speaking into.

“Who the fuck-!?”

“What?” The voice was now solely the man’s, the tone taunting and knowing. “You don’t like _girls?_ ”

Snake purposefully schooled his face into a mask of indifference. He didn’t _dislike_ women he just...preferred men. His Codec rang and the Colonel came through.

“Snake! Meryl’s not herself!” Obviously. “Don’t use your weapon!”

“It’s Psycho Mantis!” Naomi interjected. “That music you’ve been hearing is his psychic influence on the intercom equipment in the area. He’s controlling Meryl!”

“Please!” The Colonel was pleading. “Don’t hurt her! Just- try to knock her out!”

Snake hung up. He’d make no promises he couldn’t keep but he wasn’t thrilled at the idea of hurting the girl either. She shuffled towards him and he used his arm to push her hands up so that if she shot it would hit the ceiling instead, then he used his other arm to shove her over, landing her flat assed on the rug. He put some distance between them and she clumsily got to her feet.

Snake couldn’t see Mantis, the fucker moving too fast for him to even try to shoot at him. Meryl was back within range and Snake lowered his center of gravity, catching her in the stomach and rolling her over just like he was taught in academy.

He could still remember the cushy plastic mats they would fall on.

Meryl unfortunately didn’t have a mat and instead hit the marble floors hard. She got up again.

Cmon, just stay down.

She fired a bullet and Snake dodged, swooping in under the gun and knocking it loose. He was kinda glad she was so stubborn and insisted on using a gun too big for her, it made disarming easier. He pulled her forward, sending her to the floor where she hit her head on the desk falling down.

“Useless woman,” Mantis hissed, his shimmering body hovering above the desk.

“Optic Camouflage Huh?” Snake squinted. Everyone and their mother had that shit. “I hope that’s not your only trick.”

“You!” He pointed at Snake, the tacky paintings behind him warping to show his arm. “You doubt my power!”

Snake rolled his eyes and checked Meryl’s pulse. Still strong. “Now- I will show you why I am the most powerful practitioner of psychokinesis and telepathy in the world!”

Mantis help up a finger. “No...there’s no need for words Snake. I am Psycho Mantis! This is no trick, it’s true power!”

Snake pointed his gun at the man and he scoffed, moving his hand. Against his will, Snake felt his Socom being forced away, his arm moving back down. “It’s useless I told you! Now...let me read your mind...”

Snake tried to move but he was stuck in place, like a fly on a glue trap. He felt a headache coming on, pounding behind his eyes and a high pitched ringing in his ears. Fuck. Unbidden, the hundreds of memories of sitting at home, on his bunk, in the trenches- dozens of different places and times- always following the same routine of checking his equipment, taking his guns apart and cleaning them, checking straps for wear before donning them- they all flashed through his consciousness- there and gone.

“Hmmm, you are a very...methodical man. The type who always kicks his tires before he leaves.” A pause, Snake felt another stab of pain in his head, memories of the first person he ever killed- a young man who couldn't have been older than 16- the way his eyes rolled back and his skeletal body hit the ground, of fighting in the Gulf War, of running missions for FOXHOUND, of infiltrating Outer Heaven and setting his father on fire- they were pulled out one after the other after the other. “You are a highly skilled warrior, well suited to this stealth mission.”

More memories played across his mind. This time of walking slowly through buildings, of checking weapons for tampering, of always listening for strange sounds indicating a trap or an enemy hiding, of never trusting information completely. “You are very cautious of traps, either you are very careful...or you’re a coward.”

Fuck this guy. Psycho Mantis huffed. “Still don’t believe me!? Now I’ll read more deeply into your soul...”

Personal memories started flying by- the social worker who took him from foster home to foster home and her van that always smelled like old fast food wrappers. The doctor who replaced Clark after she was called away for a more interesting project who used to violate him in every way imaginable until he wished he was dead. The day he started boot camp and refused to let Miller and Big Boss send him on a wild goose chase for something he _knew_ didn’t exist because don’t waste my time goddamn it; and them making his life a living Hell in return. The betrayal of Big Boss, sending him to fight his own private military as some form of sick joke and then doing it _again_ through Campbell. Being forced to fight his best friend- his _only_ friend- to the death. His retirement to Alaska, as far away from it all as he could get, and the subsequent drinking he took up as a hobby. The first sled dogs he acquired, Taki and Bella, which started his habit of taking in as many as he could until he had over four dozen that he loved dearly. Finding a tiny orphaned pup in the snow, hardly more than a few days old, a runt cast off by her mother, and nursing it back to health. Being forced to go on this mission by a small army of soldiers armed to the teeth, them literally dragging him out of his cabin and into the night. His first meeting with Otacon and the shock and anger of finding out what had happened to Grey Fox...

Psycho Mantis finally pulled out of his mind, leaving Snake feeling breathless and violated. “I can read you like an open book...”

That son of a bitch. Snake was trembling, his teeth clenched so hard his jaw was threatening to pop. How dare he paw through his private thoughts.

Snake inhaled, willing his mind to go blank. Don’t think, just do.

_Don’t think, just do._

Snake equipped his thermal goggles, locating where the fucker was and he let his body do what it knew he needed to do.

The FA-MAS would be the best choice against this asshole, dealing heavier damage than the Socom would and making it harder to use his psychic powers to deflect bullets. On a purely personal level Snake wanted this to hurt. He wanted this freak to suffer.

Snake didn’t think about aiming, he didn’t think about dodging or positioning himself just so, he just did it. Mentally he thought of everything and nothing, a tactic taught to him by Miller to counter act the battle high.

Psycho Mantis threw objects around the room, anything from tacky arm chairs to paper weights; paintings to lamps. Snake dodges the majority of them, a few hitting him in the side or stomach once in a while but Snake didn’t feel it.

He had detached himself from his body. He both was and was not there. Psycho Mantis continued to dive into his mind, pawing around and becoming frustrated.

“Ugh! Why can’t I read you!?” He threw another paperweight like a petulant child throwing a tantrum, upset that he was failing at the one thing he’d always been good at.

“No matter,” he moved his hands, hoisting Meryl up like she was a marionette and making her fire at him. Snake took a bullet to his side, the hot metal tearing past his flesh at an angle, searing a 45 degree line of pain and gore about an eighth of an inch deep. He took Meryl down, kicking her in her stomach hard, and fired three times into Psycho Mantis’ body, smirking at how he jerked in the air.

Meryl was forced back up, her eyes still glassy and Snake flipped her back to the floor, knocking her out. Psycho Mantis crossed his arms. “You are powerful indeed but I know your weak point...”

Meryl’s still unconscious body was picked up, her head lolling like a rag doll. “Meryl,” Psycho Mantis said sweetly, using his hand to drag her arm up and point a gun at her head. “Stand right where he can see you and blow your brains out!”

Snake didn’t even bother responding, he just darted over and grabbed the gun, pulling it away from her head and shoving her to the floor by her wrist.

Apparently whatever he did severed Mantis’ control on her because he screamed No and started darting about the room erratically, looking for more things to throw. Snake started firing, not thinking about aiming and tracking but just focused on taking the bastard out.

His stream of consciousness was a single word repeated over and over. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. KILL.

“Why!?” Cried Mantis, The bullets ripping through his skin tight suit. “Why can’t I read your mind!?”

More objects flew towards Snake and a book caught his goggles, pushing them off his face.

Whatever.

Snake kept firing at the shimmery man, seeing red. With a final bullet, Psycho Mantis reappeared and dropped to the ground.

He didn’t move and Snake breathed heavy, boarder line hyper ventilating. Why? Why’d that fucker have to pull up all that shit? Why couldn’t he have just left Snake alone? He glanced to Meryl, watched her chest rise up and down, and called the colonel.

“Colonel. Your niece is going to be fine.”

A huge sigh of relief. “Thanks Snake. I owe you one.”

“Now that Mantis is beaten, Meryl’s brain washing should wear off, right Naomi?” Snake sounded...shaken. A little bit of panic leeching into his voice.

Mantis had been in his head too. He had to be sure he was gone.

“Yes, but why did you go so far out of your way to save her?”

What? That entire fight all Snake did was throw her to the ground, letting her hit her head on desks and marble floors and whatever else was laying around. Just because he didn’t outright kill her didn’t mean he had gone ‘out of his way’ to save her.

“Was it for Campbell’s sake?” Naomi pried, “or was it because you _like_ her?”

Snake’s eyebrows furrowed. “I don’t want to see any innocent woman die right in front of me, my opinions of them be damned.”

“Oh really? Since when did anybody’s death bother you so much?” Naomi’s voice was cold, mocking.

What the fuck did she just say? Colonel cut in, his voice outraged. “Naomi! It’s true that Snake has killed a lot of people but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a heart!”

“No,” Snake’s voice was like ice, sarcasm dripping from his lips like venom. “It’s okay colonel. She’s right. I’ve never felt any emotion about taking a man’s life through my entire 18 year career as a soldier. I’m just a heartless, cold blooded, murderer.” 

Naomi didn’t say anything to that and Snake hung up. He wouldn’t have wanted to hear what she thought anyway. What did she know? What did she _fucking_ know about _anything_ in his life?

Psycho Mantis was breathing slowly, the edges ragged. “So...you used that technique...” a cough. “I couldn’t...I couldn’t read the future...”

Snake stalked over to him. “A strong man doesn’t need to read the future. He makes his own.”

He laughed. “Perhaps so...but I will read your future...”

Snake felt his head throb. Not this again! Quickly he tried to empty his mind. Stupid stupid stupid! Why’d he let his guard down? Mantis’ words echoed in his ears, like he was wearing noise cancelling headphones. “To get to Metal Gear’s Maintenance base you’ll go through the hidden door behind that bookcase-“ the bookcase in the office’s right hand corner flashed through his mind. Then, you will go to the communication towers and use the walkways to cross over-“ Mantis coughed, doubtless his body desperately trying to expel blood from his lungs. Snake knelt down, sneering.

“Why are you telling me this?”

“...in my lifetime, I have read the pasts, presents, and futures of thousands upon thousands of men and women.”

Snake noticed Meryl getting up and limping over. Mantis was coughing more and more and Snake removed the gas mask so he could hear him better. An act of mercy for a dying man.

Mantis had lived a hard, cruel, and- judging by the lack of aging- short life. His slightly deformed face was incredibly pale and covered in freckles. He had a cleft lip which had been operated on to let him speak more normally, his entire face was rather sallow, and his nose had been crushed flat. The left eye appeared slightly smaller than the other, the skin shrunken from a burn, with the larger of the two being a vivid blue ringed with thick red eyelashes and the other being a clouded grey indicating he was possibly partially blind. He had obviously been operated on at some point in his life, probably against his will, as a long incision scar ran across his temple and down the meridian of his skull, perhaps the reason for his baldness. On one cheek he had been burned badly, the puckered red flesh curving up to his eye and on the other he had been given a Glasgow grin- the gruesome scarring having been haphazardly stitched back together by someone who didn’t know what the hell they were doing. The scar tissues were thick and inflamed- unhealthy from not being exposed to air often enough. There were lines where the gas mask had rubbed his face raw, disfiguring his complexion even more. He was bleeding from the mouth, strands of viscous blood and saliva dripping down his chin. Meryl glanced at his face and covered her mouth.

“Eww! Gross!”

“Meryl!” Snake barked, shooting her a look that made stronger men quiver in their boots. The man was far from conventionally attractive but he was still a living breathing human with thoughts and emotions. He deserved to die without having to hide his face- even if that face was deformed. Meryl turned away, having the decency to look ashamed for her outburst.

“-and every mind I looked into was stuffed with the same single object of obsession. That selfish and atavistic desire to pass on one’s seed. It was enough to make me _sick._ ” Snake noticed that without the mask on, Mantis’ Russian accent became much more pronounced. “Every living thing on this planet exists to mindlessly pass on their DNA. We’re designed that way. And that’s why there is war.”

Mantis turned and made eye contact with Snake. “But you... you’re different. You’re the same as us. We have no past, no future, we live in the _moment._ That’s our only purpose.” He looked away. “Humans weren’t designed to bring each other happiness. From the moment we are thrown into this world we’re fated to bring each other nothing but pain and misery.”

“...the first person whose mind I dove into was my father’s. I saw nothing but disgust and hatred for me in his heart. My mother died in childbirth-“ Mantis seized, nearly choking. “-and he despised me for it. I thought my father was going to kill me. That’s when my future disappeared. I lost my past as well. When I came to, the village was engulfed in flames.”

Snake frowned. “Are you saying that you burned your village down to bury your past?”

“I see that you have suffered the same trauma.” He laughed, his eyes going unfocused. “We are truly the same, you and I...and the world is a more interesting place with people like you in it. I never agreed with the Bosses’ revolution. His dreams of world conquest do not interest me. I just wanted an excuse to _kill_ as many people as I could!”

Meryl was looking back at the man, her face twisted with disgust. “You monster-!”

“Let him talk!” Snake interrupted, his eyes blazing. Snake may hate the man- may think he was twisted and a psychopath- but it was clearly the world who made him that way and so it was the world’s duty to listen to what he had to say in his final moments. “He doesn’t have much time left...”

“I have seen true evil. You Snake- you are just like the Boss. No...you’re worse. Compared to you? I’m not so bad.”

Mantis’ eyes snapped to Meryl, his face jeering. “I’ve read her mind as well. I saw you there...you hold a large place in her heart...but she doesn’t hold a place in yours. Yours...is owned by another. I do not know if your futures lie together indefinitely, but I know that you will change because of them.”

Meryl covered her mouth with her hand, turning away from Snake. Mantis stared into his eyes. “I have a final request...””

“What is it?”

“My mask,” his eyes flicked to where it lay behind Snake. “Put it back on.”

“Okay...” Snake lifted the mask and gently put it back on his face.

“Like this,” Mantis spoke throughout the gentle tugging and adjusting of the mask being put in place. “Other people’s thoughts force their way into my mind. Before I die, I want to be by myself...I want to be left alone...”

Mantis weakly raised a hand, sliding the bookcase aside with his telekinesis. “If you want to find your future, go through that door...” he paused, his breathing labored. “This is the first time...I’ve used my powers to...help...someone. It feels... kind of... _nice_.” Mantis whispered the last word, it barely more then a breath, and he fell still, the life draining out of him.

Snake knelt beside him for another moment before standing slowly and starting towards the door. “Let’s go Meryl.”

She stood still, tears falling from her eyes. “I’m sorry...”

Snake stopped, trying not to sigh, and gently prompted her again. “Meryl?”

“I...can’t believe I let Mantis control my mind like that.”

“If you’re going to doubt yourself, I’ll leave you here.” His voice was hard, mean.

“You’re right.” She turned and wiped at her nose.

“Never doubt yourself! Just let it make you stronger. Learn from it and move on!”

She nodded, sniffling and trying to stop her tears. “I’m sorry, I won’t do it again.”

Snake turned and started to walk out of the room. They had fucked around here for too long.

“Snake? Can I ask you something?”

Snake didn’t stop walking. “What?”

“About What Mantis said...” he paused. Jesus Christ almighty.

“What? What’s the problem now?” Snake was short, exasperated. What about it did she not understand?

“Oh...nothing,” bitter. Whatever. Fine by him.

Snake started reloading his gun and Meryl followed suit. Finally, blessed silen-

“So tell me Snake,” fuck. “What’s your name- your _real_ name?”

“A name means nothing on the battlefield.”

“How old are you?”

“Old enough to know what death looks like.”

“Any family?”

What is this- 20 questions? “No, but I was raised by many people.”

“Is there...anyone you like?” Her voice was cautiously hopeful. Shit.

“I’ve never been interested in anyone else’s life.”

“So you are all alone, just like Mantis said.”

Snake turned to her, his face mean. “I don’t like other people in my life. They just complicate things. I’d rather not get involved.”

“You’re a sad, lonely man...”

He rolled his eyes. “Cmon, let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> —:—
> 
> I headcannon Snake as bisexual with a preference for men. He doesn’t really believe in labels tho...
> 
> Next chapter is in the works and should be up sometime on 1/11 or early in the morning on 1/12. I’ve been busy with classes recently. 
> 
> Don’t forget to leave a comment and kudos!


	10. PART NINE: THE WOLF DEN

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, my boyfriend got roped into working overtime and I got slammed with German homework because Frau is mean so this next chapter is taking longer than normal. It should be out either by Jan 14th or 15th so look for it then.
> 
> WARNING: this chapter contains non-consensual touching

Snake and Meryl took the dimly lit down staircase down, pressing the level five key card against the scanner. The door slid open and immediately the ambient temperature dropped exponentially. Snake stepped out and in the distance he heard howling.

“Could there be wolves in there?” Meryl asked, arms crossing over her body and voice tight either from fear or cold. Snake listened to the howls.

“Wolf-dogs,” he said confidently. “Half wolf, half huskie.”

She gave him a look, awed and confused. “How the hell do you know that?”

Normally Snake wouldn’t answer such a personal question but he would literally jump at any chance to talk about something _not_ related to war or weapons and his dogs were his favorite topic on Earth. “There are a lot of huskies where I live and sometimes they get out and mate with the wild wolf population. I can hear them at night. Also, I have 51 dogs of which at least three are true wolf dogs and probably over a third have some wolf blood in them so-“ Meryl was looking at him like he was insane and Snake remembered that most people didn’t have 4 dozen plus dogs. “I ride dog sleds. I’m a musher.” He explained. Her expression softened but she was still giving him a strange look.

“Alright, I’ll take point. Snake, you follow me.” 

She ran off into the night and Snake rolled his eyes. Screw it, he was going to fucking eat something and have a smoke while he could.

He plopped down on the ground and lit a cigarette, pulling out a ration.

Peanut butter, crackers, and freeze dried blueberries. Not half bad.

Snake ate his meal quickly, taking a long slow drag of his cig in between bites. If he closed his eyes and just listened to the howling he could almost believe that he was back home, enjoying a smoke with his dogs on the back stoop.

He rubbed out the butt of his cigarette and wrapped it in the remains of his MRE, stuffing the trash into a crevice.

He pulled his night vision goggles on and followed after Meryl.

The cave was dark and den like with a low ceiling and plenty of wolf-dogs lurking about. Snake knew he’d have to be fast- he was not their master and he was intruding on their territory. He got to his feet, ducking his head and moving quickly past the first dog who immediately started stalking him, hackles up and teeth bared. More dogs followed and Snake saw his opening, a low tunnel to the right. He bolted and the dogs followed, hot on his heels.

Snake kicked out, pushing the nearest dog back into its pack mates slowly but firmly, not enough to hurt but enough to give Snake time to get through the opening.

He saw Meryl and went over to her. Behind him, a wolf dog and her pup followed and spotted Meryl, plopping down and looking at her submissively.

So their owner was a woman then.

“What’s wrong Snake?” She mocked, smirking at how the dogs left her alone. “I thought you were good with dogs.”

Snake glared at her. “I’m good with _my_ dogs. Every dog is different and I don’t expect them all to like me.”

Either way, if he could get one of the dogs to mark something of his then they would probably leave him alone. He placed a cardboard box on the ground and watched as the puppy, probably having been trained to relieve himself on mats and straw, immediately piddled on the box. Snake smiled and picked it up, tucking it away and finding Meryl’s grossed out expression funny. “That’s disgusting, why would you keep that?”

“Now I have something that smells like them making me part of the pack. If I have this I have their approval.”

Meryl rolled her eyes and they walked through the door, leaving the dogs behind.

The room put Snake on edge. They were too low and if there was an enemy on the catwalks it would be hard to see them in the dark. Perfect place for a ambush or sniper attack and while Snake could shoot a rifle and take out an enemy long range he wouldn’t call it his strong suit.

Meryl held out her hand. “This place is mined, Stay back and follow me.”

Snake narrowed his eyes. “The radar is jammed, how do you expect to get through without blowing yourself to pieces?”

Meryl didn’t say anything and walked forward, snaking around the mines and she ended up on the other side unscathed. 

“Well?” She smirked. “What do you think? Pretty good huh?”

“How’d you know where the mines were placed?”

“It sounds weird but when Psycho Mantis was in my head, I was in his. I saw where they put the mines. Are you impressed?”

A shrug. “A little.”

“Only a little!?”

Snake smirked and got down on his stomach, crawling through the mines, nice and slow, picking up three claymores on the way.

He stood up on the other side and snowed Meryl the claymores, delighting in the way she gaped at them. “How did you...?”

“There is more than one way to clear a mine field. Now, there are no mines we have to worry about.”

She huffed and turned, striding forward. Snake went to follow her then stopped.

Something was wrong.

“Meryl.” He hissed. She glanced behind her, rolled her eyes, and kept going. Snake saw the tiny red dot of a laser scope trail up her body. “Meryl!!” He darted forward, intending to push her to the ground. “Get down!”

It was too late. There was a bang and Meryl screamed, blood spurting forward from her leg. She fell to her knees and Snake took cover. Another shot through her torso and she whimpered, falling flat. She weakly tried to grab her weapon but got shot in the arm for her trouble. She clutched the wet gaping wound to her body, falling limp. 

Fuck. Snake peeked out from around his cover, trying to see where the Sniper was shooting from. A bullet pinged against the wall an inch from his face and he darted back, the next shell hitting where his head was a second earlier.

“Snake...” Meryl whispered, her eyes closed. “Leave me and run.”

What good should that do him? They’d just keep following anyway. “Meryl, it’s me they want.”

“Even I know that...” she took a pain filled gasp. “I guess I am a rookie...it’s the oldest trick in the book...the sniper is using me for bait to lure you out...”

She fell still and Snake wasn’t sure if she was still alive. “Meryl!” He barked, his tone harsh and insistent. Her eyes fluttered open.

“Shoot me Snake...”

“No.”

“My gun...I can’t reach it..” She shut her eyes. “I promised I wouldn’t slow you down. I-I- I can still help. I want to help you...”

“Quiet down, save your strength.”

Her breaths were coming quickly, a ragged quality to them. “I was a fool. I wanted to be a soldier. But war is ugly... there’s nothing glamorous about it. Snake please save yourself! Go on living and don’t give up on people!” Snake's Codec started to ring. “Don’t forget me and get out of here!”

Snake answered the call. “Meryl!!” The colonel sounded just devastated, barely holding back tears. Besides the reminder that the girl was very important to Campbell it also confirmed Snake’s suspicions that they were _always_ listening, even when he wasn’t using the Codec. “Damn! Snake, it’s a trap. A sniper’s trick to lure you out. He’s waiting for you to go and help Meryl so he can pick you off- Don’t. Do. It.”

“It must be Sniper Wolf!” Naomi added. “FOXHOUND’s best shooter.”

“Snipers usually work in pairs but this one’s alone huh?” Snake grumbled.

“I know her. She can wait for hours- days- weeks even. It doesn’t matter to her. She’s just watching and waiting for you to expose yourself.”

Snake glanced at the slowly growing pool of blood blooming out from Meryl. “Maybe so but Meryl can’t hold out for that long. If we’re going to try to save her it has to be fast.”

Naomi paused. “Snake, can you see Wolf from where you are?”

He scanned the area. “There’s nowhere to hide between here and the tower so she must be on the second floor catwalk.”

“If Wolf is in the communications tower-” The Colonel was talking fast, his voice panicked. “-then she can see you perfectly. The textbook Sniper’s position. At that distance you won’t be able to hit her with a standard weapon either, it has to be a sniper’s rifle.”

“Colonel!” Snake interrupted his stream of advice. “Take it easy. I’m going to do everything I can to save Meryl- whatever it takes- okay?”

The colonel sighed, the air shaky. “Okay...Thanks.”

Naomi gave a thoughtful hum and Snake narrowed his eyes. “What’s wrong Naomi?”

“Oh nothing, I’m just- surprised you’re willing to sacrifice yourself. You’ve got the genes of a solider, not a savior.”

“What, are you trying to say that I’m only interested in saving my own skin?”

“I wouldn’t go that far but-“

“I don’t care what the hell my genes look like!” Snake snapped. “I honestly couldn’t care less. I operate on instinct.”

“Like an animal.”

Well there was a very good reason why all of FOXHOUND’s members were named after animals. “I am going to save Meryl. I don’t need a fucking excuse. She got shot because of me and so I am going to help her. That’s all.”

“Okay, I understand. I’m sorry.”

The colonel was back. “Snake, thank you...”

Snake hung up and ran to the door, exiting back into the den. He leaned against the wall, the howls of the wolf-dogs piercing the night. It was time.

Snake tuned his Codec to 141.12, steeling himself. It rang.

Hal picked up. “Otacon! Have you ever seen a sniper rifle anywhere on this base?”

“A sniper rifle?”

“Meryl’s been shot by an extremely skilled Sniper. A high quality sniper rifle is the only way I can fight back.”

Otacon floundered for a moment. “I uh...I saw a PSG-1 in the armory in the second floor basement of the Tank Hanger.”

Well fuck. “The second floor basement of the Tank Hanger? I have to go all the way back there?”

“Well...Yeah...” Otacon sounded unsure, sad. The hell?

“What’s wrong with you Otacon?” Snake asked, his tone gruff from stress.

“Nothing...” Otacon terminated the call and Snake resisted the urge to call back. He had more pressing things to worry about.

Snake pulled out the box the pup had peed on and made his way back through the den, the dogs barely even glancing in his direction. Once back into the secret passage way, Snake ran past were he fought Mantis and took the elevator back up to floor one. There was one guard faceing the opposite direction and Snake ignored him, running down the stairs, past the boxes of nuclear warheads, and out into the cold night air where he fought the tank.

He equipped the mine detector and snuck passed the mounted turrets. There were dozens of mines peppered throughout the field but Snake took the narrow path to the left, inching past cameras and occasionally crawling over a claymore or two and picking them up.

Snake waited for the doors of the tank storage building to rise, equipping his thermals just long enough to see that the lasers he had needed to shimmy past were now deactivated. He ran right past and hit the elevator doors before the guards could see him, riding down to B2.

He looked at the Soliton, making note of where the guards were. This would be a bit tricky. He waited until the guard patrolling the hallway in front of the elevator was to the far right before sneaking out, going left. A trap door clicked and Snake ran over it, pressing his body to the wall and waiting for the other guard to move away from the door. Snake saw his window of opportunity and took it, pressing the level 5 PAN Card to the first little chamber and darting inside.

There it was. Whatever was bothering Otacon didn’t lead him to lie about the location of the PSG-1. Snake went to move forward but stopped, there were grooves on the floor indicating lasers. He lit a cig and blew the smoke over the beams. 

A fucking grid. Snake laid down and inched forward, carefully squeezing in between the little boxes. The rifle was a beautiful thing indeed, all gleaming blue steel, and he slung it over his back, putting the ammo into its own separate pocket in his belt. He crawled back through the way he came, finishing the cig and tucking the butt away.

The guards were on the right side of the room, leaving Snake with a opportunity to run back to the elevator unnoticed and ride it back to the ground floor. He ran out the hanger door and crawled his way across the mine field back into the nuclear warhead storage building. There, Snake picked up some more chaff grenades and took the stairs to the elevator.

Back through B1, past the corpse of Psycho Mantis, into the den of the wolf dogs with his cardboard box, and finally- _finally_ he was ready to go.

He ran into the room and loaded his rifle. 6 shots. Snake dry swallowed some Diazepam and got on his stomach, taking aim.

He watched through his scope as Sniper Wolf peeked out from behind a pillar. Snake pressed the trigger and hit her in the shoulder. She dropped to her stomach and he hit her in the side. She rolled for cover and Snake punctured her thigh. Wolf returned fire and Snake backed out, running over to the other side and waited, putting another three bullets into the gun.

Snake got low and crawled out just far enough that he could see again and looked through the scope. He saw her behind the pillar and fired, tisking when it hit the concrete instead. He pulled back, edging back over to the other side. Get down, deep breath, aim.

She was crouched behind some boxes and he got her in the hip. Before she could return fire Snake pressed the trigger again, hitting somewhere in the vicinity of her collarbone. Sniper Wolf jerked, falling flat. Was she dead?

No. She crawled away, too low to hit, and Snake watched her go into the communication tower- probably to lick her wounds and find a new location to ambush him again. Bitch.

To top it all off, Meryl was nowhere in sight. Snake called Campbell.

“Good job with Wolf Snake! Is Meryl okay?”

“I don’t know, I don’t see her.” Snake’s voice was raspy, his nerves frayed. This still screamed trap to him.

“You don’t think she’s been captured do you?” Naomi had the gall to sound concerned. Snake snorted.

“Could be. Let’s see if I can’t find some answers ahead.”

Snake hung up and ran forward, taking the stairs to see if Sniper Wolf was still lurking around.

She wasn’t.

He called Otacon, maybe he would know where she was likely to go. He answered and didn’t say anything.

“...you ok?” Snake asked. Otacon huffed, angry. “What’s your problem?”

“Why’d you have to fight Wolf?” Otacon snapped, voice tight. Snake grit his teeth.

“Gee, I don’t know, maybe I had to fight her because she was trying to _kill_ me. Or maybe it’s because she shot up an innocent girl for no reason other than to get to me or maybe it’s just that she’s part of a group a terrorists hell bent on launching a nuclear strike against the American people- Take your pick.”

Otacon didn’t say anything and Snake hung up. Well at least he’s still alive.

Snake went down the stairs and made for the doorway, his instincts screaming at him that something was wrong. He got almost to the door- almost pressed his card to the scanner when he heard rapid footsteps and the sounds of multiple guns being pointed at him at once.

“Don’t move!”

Snake slowly raised his hands. Well fuck. A woman walked out of the shadows, her rifle trained on Snake.

“It’s hard to miss when you are this close,” she said, her Kurdish accent thick, “toss your weapon over here- slowly...”

Snake made a show of sliding his gun over carefully, the Socom skidding to a halt by her feet. Another guard picked it up.

“Stupid man, only a fool would come back here.”

It’s not like he had much of a choice. “A lady sniper huh.”

She smirked. “Didn’t you know? Two thirds of the world’s greatest assassins are women.” She tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder. “Would you like to die now or after your female friend? Make your choice.”

Snake grit his teeth. ‘Why’d you have to fight Wolf?’ Otacon had asked. This was why. She was a first rate, power hungry, murderous bitch. “I’ll die after I kill you.”

She laughed and lowered her weapon. “Is that right? Well at least you’ve got spirit.” Her hand ran down from her hair past her breasts to her hip where it settled. “I am Sniper Wolf, and I always kill what I aim at.”

Snake bit back a retort and she made a noise that was half coo half growl. “Ohhhh,” she stepped forward, her hand resting on Snake’s cheek and caressing down past his jawline and over to thumb at his lower lip. It took every single ounce of discipline in his body to not smack her hand away, to not bite her thumb like his namesake. “You’re my...special prey. Got it?”

He didn’t respond, staring into her dark blue eyes with his blue-green ones. He tried to pour all his hatred into the gaze, to let her know that he was serious about fucking killing her. She grinned and suddenly swiped her hand past his cheek, scratching an angry red line into the flesh. “There, I’ve left my mark on you. I won’t forget it.” She leaned close, her breasts pressing into his chest and her lips an inch from his. “Until I kill you, you’ll be all I think about.”

Wolf went to kiss him and Snake spat in her face, enjoying for a second the pleasure he got from it before a guard slammed his rifle into his face and he crumpled to the floor.

He saw the boots of the guards and the order to take him away before he lost consciousness, his body being dragged somewhere.

Snake was now a prisoner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone who knows anything about MGS1 knows what’s coming next so prepare yourselves for that. 
> 
> Also Otacon totally has Stockholm Syndrome because later you hear him constantly defending Wolf even though it’s very clear she doesn’t give a crap about him. But, then again, Hal doesn’t exactly have the best history of saying No to beautiful women who are in a position of power over him.
> 
> Comments and kudos would be appreciated! :)


	11. PART TEN: PRISONER

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: this chapter contains non-consensual touching, electrical torture, and a brief mention of past rape.

Snake awoke to blackness, a black bag over his head and his body strapped down tight.

“Don’t kill him yet, I want him alive.” The voice was young, British, and self important. If Snake was in any shape to do so, he figured he might have punched the fucker.

“Leave it to me...” Ocelot responded.

“I want no more accidents like that DARPA chief!” The Brit snapped at Ocelot. Another voice now.

“Yes,” Wolf crooned, “He’s my target. Mine alone.”

Snake heard footsteps approaching. The bag was ripped off of his head and he winced at the bright light that looked suspiciously like part of a lab.

Well fuck.

“Can you hear me Solid Snake?” The Brit asked.

“He’s tougher than I thought...” Wolf sneered.

The British guy was back. “Do you know who I am?” Snake was in no position to say anything- not with how his vision was shaking and his ears were ringing. The man continued. “I always knew that one day I would meet you. The man who stole what was rightfully mine. The man who stole my birthright.”

Snake tried to sit up, felt the pull of metal restraints and he fell back. Ocelot sneered. “Forget it. Your body is strapped down tight.”

The British guy kept going like he had never been interrupted. “Me? I’m the man you stole everything good from and now, after the sacrifice of our brothers- after thirty long years- _finally_ the two of us meet. The Brother of Light...and The Brother of Dark.

Was it still considered meeting if you couldn’t look them in the face? Snake doubted it but didn’t have the energy to reply. This guy was so wrapped up in his own monologue anyway, what was the point. Silence stretched in the room and Sniper Wolf finally broke it.

“Do you need his DNA too?”

“Yes, I want a sample while he’s still alive. We need it to correct the genome soldier’s mutations.”

“Then we’ll be able to cure them?”

“No,” the man sounded irritated, his tone condescending and slow like he was explaining a simple concept to a moron. “We still have to get our hands on Big Boss’s DNA.”

Wolf tisked, annoyed. “Have they given into our demands yet?”

“Not. Yet.”

“They won’t give in,” she smirked. “They’re all hypocrites, every one of them.”

“Is that your opinion?” He was sarcastic, like he couldn’t care less what she thought. “As a Kurd?”

“They always put politics first.”

“That’s right, and that’s why they want to avoid any leak about their precious new nuclear weapon.”

“Boss,” Ocelot crooned. “It looks like our friend is awake.”

The table Snake was strapped to moved, tilting from flat to vertical slowly. Snake glared out at his captors. Ocelot was on the right by a control board of some kind and Sniper Wolf was by the door. In front of him, the terrorist leader Liquid Snake was staring at him intently. It was like looking into a mirror if that mirror was a self important, smug, tow-headed, prick.

“There defiantly is a resemblance- don’t you think little brother? Or- should I say big brother? I’m not sure... anyway, it doesn’t matter. You and I are both the last surviving ‘Sons of Big Boss.’ Inside of Liquid’s pocket, a cell phone rang and he turned, pressing the receiver to his ear. “It’s me...really?...then what!?...ugh those _idiots_!”

Liquid looked over his shoulder, glaring at Snake. Whatever news he just got it wasn’t good news. “Alright Raven, I’ll be right there.”

The man hung up and shoved his hands into the pockets of his green trench coat, turning around. “They’re not responding to our demands. We’ll launch the first one in ten hours as planned.”

“Damn Americans!” Wolf hissed.

“Looks like you read them wrong,” Ocelot sneered, his voice cold.

Liquid Snake narrowed his eyes, thinking. “Something’s funny- normally the Americans are the first ones to the negotiation table. They must think they’ve got something up their sleeves...”

“So it’s come down to it has it?” Ocelot gestured with his left hand, the remainder of the right in a sling. “We’re going to launch that nuke and ride it all the way into history.”

Blondie tisked and got ready to leave. “I’ve got to take care of some launch preparations. You’re in charge here Ocelot!”

The old man turned to Wolf. “What about you? Do you wanna stay for the show?”

“I’m not interested,” she flipped her bangs away from her face and poured a bunch of pills into her hand, swallowing them. “It’s time to feed the family.”

“So you prefer your wolves to my show?”

Liquid stared into Snake’s eyes and Snake stared right back, refusing to back down. “Ocelot! Don’t screw up like you did with the chief.”

“Yes yes I know. That was an accident. I didn’t think a pencil pusher like him would be so tough.”

Liquid nodded. “Well, his mental defenses were reinforced by hypnotherapy.”

“Boss, what about that Ninja?”

“He’s killed twelve men- whoever he is he’s clearly some kind of lunatic.”

Ocelot grit his teeth, pissed. “Bastard took my hand! How could he have gotten in here?”

“Perhaps there’s a spy among us,” Liquid conjectured. “Mantis is dead. We’ve also got to find out what killed Baker and Octopus. We’re short handed-“ Solid snorted. He wasn’t sure if Liquid was aware of the word play and how Ocelot narrowed his eyes. “-so make this little torture show of yours as short as possible!”

“Torture? This is an interrogation.” An interrogation for what? Snake didn’t know anything.

“Whatever. As you wish.” Liquid started towards the door, glancing over his shoulder and piercing Snake with his gaze. “See you later, brother.”

With a swish of the doors, Liquid left and Wolf stepped forward, her hand touching Snake’s shirtless pecs. It took everything in Snake not to shudder in disgust. God he hated it when people touched him without his permission. “Your woman is still in this world,” she whispered, hand trailing down his abdomen stoping just short of his groin. “Catch you later, handsome.”

Finally she turned and left, leaving Snake alone with Ocelot. The old man whistled low. “Once she picks a target, she doesn’t think about anything else. Sometimes she even falls in love with them- before she kills them that is.” He removed his coat and tossed it over the chair. “Finally, just the two of us. How are you feeling?”

He steeled himself. Whatever this man was planning on doing, Snake knew he wouldn’t like it. “Not bad. I caught a nice little nap on this revolving bed of yours. Too bad I was sleeping alone.”

“Glad to hear that...” Ocelot stepped towards him slowly. “This is some bed alright. I’m about to show you some of it’s nicer features.”

Snake wished he was wearing at least his undershirt. The terrorists had thankfully left his pants on but removed his boots. Absently, Snake wondered if they had seen his new soulmark in the process.

God he hoped not. It would piss him right the hell off if they got to see it before him.

“Where are my things?”

“Oh don’t worry, they’re all there,” Ocelot gestured to a box in to corner. “Washington was taking quite a chance sending you here. Someone must have had a lot of faith in your skill huh carrier boy?”

Snake didn’t say anything to that, just glared at the man. The silence stretched on. “So Metal Gear is armed with a new type of nuclear warhead huh?” Snake asked.

“Why don’t you go ask Campbell for the full story?”

“The Colonel?” So he wasn’t telling Snake everything. Fucking classic that.

“By the way, you got an optical disk from President Baker didn’t you?”

“What if I did?”

“Is that the only disk? There’s no other data?”

“What do you mean?” Snake snarled. If he wanted an answer he’d have to ask the question before Snake would even consider answering it.

“There’s no copy? If not that’s fine...” the old man finally turned around and went back to the control panel. Snake found some tiny comfort in the suspicion that Ocelot’s torture would not be sexual in nature. Snake could handle the pain, resist the torture- He’d been trained on how to do that- but rape...

He snapped himself out of that line of thinking. “How’s Meryl?”

“She’s not dead yet...Wolf must have been feeling generous. But, if you want her to stay that way, you’d better start answering my questions right now.”

Snake exhaled through his nose slowly and Ocelot started typing away at the control station. “You were carrying one card key- where are the other two? What’s the trick behind that key?”

“Trick?”

“That weasel of a president said there’s some kind of trick to using the key.”

“Hell if I know.”

Ocelot turned and smiled at him. “I see...no problem then.” Snake knew there was, indeed, a problem. “We’re going to play a game Snake, and we’ll find out what kind of man you really are. When the pain becomes too great to bear, just give up and your suffering will end. But, if you do, the girl’s life will be mine.”

Snake took a deep breath- in then out- he could do this. Ocelot smirked. “I’m going to run a high voltage electric current through your body. If it’s just for a short time it won’t kill you. You’re a tough guy Snake, but I’ve got some bad news for you. You’re no POW, you’re a hostage. There’s no Geneva Convention, no one is coming to save you.”

Snake knew this. In every mission he’d ever run it was made very clear to him that if he was captured there would be no rescue. That was the nature of those who were branded the unfortunate code name of ‘Snake.’ They were to follow in the footsteps of Big Boss, to run their missions naked and alone. To this day Snake only knew of three people with the title and he hoped that there would never be a fourth.

“Starting to feel a little scared? Good, you should be.” Ocelot grabbed a button that looked like a detonator off the control panel. “Let’s begin.”

Snake relaxed his body, curled his tongue firmly to the roof of his mouth, and closed his eyes- willing his mind and body to be separated from one another. Ocelot hit the button and a searing currant rushed through Snake’s body. 

He screamed. It helped.

Every single muscle in his body spasmed at once, screaming at him over and over that there was something seriously wrong happening. Where the restraints were locked into place, Snake knew he was receiving actual electrical burns- that might be a problem later if he couldn’t find some way to treat them. Snake tried to focus on shit like that- the future, Otacon, Meryl, Frank, _Hal_ \- that way, he wouldn’t give in.

That way he could endure.

The electricity stopped and Snake sagged forward. He would have fallen flat on his face if it wasn’t for the restraints. He heaved in huge deep breaths. He could do this. He could do this.

“How did you like that?” Ocelot crooned, typing away at the computer some more. “Shall we go again?”

Snake took a deep breath and relaxed his jaw so he wouldn’t crack his teeth. A high pitched noise not unlike a camera flash was his only warning before Snake’s world felt like it was on fire again. Screaming wasn’t helping as much now but he still didn’t stop. Absently he wondered if Otacon could feel him in pain- if the bond was influenced by proximity or not- and the thought that somewhere, Hal was curled up feeling the same pain as he was, gave him strength. If he could endure then maybe it wouldn’t hurt so much. When he got out of here, he would make these fuckers pay.

His muscles went slack again and Snake panted. He could smell smoke and he wondered if it was from the machine or his singed flesh. It was probably both.

“Had enough?” God Snake wished he would just shut up. “We’re not finished yet!”

Snake couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t think, the pain was everywhere- in his stomach, chest, arms, feet, eyes- he was positive his wrists and ankles were on fire. The screaming- his voice was going to crack from the screaming alone. Ocelot laughed, he fucking _laughed_ , and Snake shook harder with rage, tipping his head back and screaming louder even though it wouldn’t help. It finally stopped.

“You still okay?” Ocelot feigned concern. “Want to go on?”

Was no even an option? 

“Can you take one more?”

Snake honestly had no idea, he just knew that he couldn’t give in so his only choice was to endure. The camera sound went off and he seized, the pain racing up his spine and embedding itself into his brain. His vision whited out, his knees buckled, the pain was excruciating- his life was slipping from his fingers no matter how hard he tried to hold on. He couldn’t die here. He couldn’t die here. HE COULDN’T DIE HERE.

It stopped and Snake slumped forward. His lungs were so tight he couldn’t breathe, his body was still jerking from the electricity, and all Snake wanted to do was rest. He wanted to curl up and fall asleep and never wake up.

“You’re a strong man. Well, that’s enough for now.” Snake didn’t believe him. This bastard might be stopping for now but he knew that men like him never truly stopped unless someone made them. “You’re the boss’s brother all right. Your brother- he’s an amazing man. Who else could shoot down two F-16s with a Hind helicopter?” Snake honestly couldn’t imagine caring less about whatever the fuck Liquid could or could not do. He hoped that they would all die, he hoped they all fucking got to feel the same pain he was feeling right now before they did too. “The Les Enfants Terribles project was not a total failure. He is the one man who could make my dream a reality.”

Well good for you asshole, why don’t you go suck his dick then and him alone?

The table slowly rotated back down and Snake was dragged away, too weak to resist. They threw him into a prison cell, the bed was hard and smelled funny but Snake welcomed the brief respite it offered. In the corner, a corpse was slumped over and rotting. The DARPA chief? He had been dead for a long time judging by the smell- too long for it to have been the same man Snake had talked to earlier- but who was the man in the cell if not him?

Whatever. Snake sat up on his cot and carefully rolled his pant leg up just enough to chance a glance at the soulmark.

It was just above where the restraints had singed a ring of pain into his flesh and was written in a slightly untidy scrawl, the lettering jet black. Snake ran his fingers across the messy cursive, tracing the letters gently. _Hal._

Fuck.

Snake pushed his pant leg back down and stared at the ceiling. The guard patrolling around was the same one that had been guarding Meryl earlier. He sneezed and Snake rolled his eyes.

What a moron.

Snake called the Colonel. Might as well let him know he was still alive.

“Snake? Are you alright?” Campbell at least sounded concerned. Snake narrowed his eyes. What kind of dumb ass question was that?

“...I’ve been better.”

“How’s Meryl?” Naomi asked.

“They’ve got her.”

“Damn!” The Colonel was upset and Snake wished he could find it in him to care but he didn’t. “Snake...the government has decided not to give in to the terrorists demands.” Snake knew that they wouldn’t from the start but he still hated it. Those fat assholes in Washington loved to sit there and make decisions about who lived or who died from the safety of their wood paneled, gilded, lavishly furnished offices while guys like him were sent out to do the real work. He'd love for one of those Congress men get strapped to Ocelot’s table and then see if they were still unwilling to give in to demands. “We’re trying to buy some more time.”

“Cmon Colonel, why don’t you stop playing dumb?” Snake’s voice was tight with rage. “I’m sorry about Meryl but I want the lies to end now.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Metal Gear was designed to launch a new type of nuclear warhead wasn’t it?”

The colonel didn’t say anything but Snake knew that he was shocked that he’d found out. What did he think he was? Born yesterday?

“You knew it all along didn’t you?” The colonel sighed and Snake pressed on. “Why did you try to hide it?”

“...I’m sorry...”

“Can’t tell the grunts huh? You’ve changed a lot. Metal Gear...secret advanced nuclear weapons research...does the White House know about this? How deep does it go?”

“...as far as I know the president has not yet been briefed about the Rex Project.”

“‘Need to know’ basis, is that the idea?”

“These are sensitive times. Even subcritical nuclear tests are causing quite a stir.”

“Plausible deniability huh?”

“Yes. Tomorrow the President and his Russian counterpart will are scheduled to sign the Start 3 Accord.”

Snake snorted. Finally some information that made sense. “That’s the reason for the deadline.”

“That’s right Snake,” Naomi interjected. “And that’s why we can’t let this terrorist attack go public.”

“We still haven’t even ratified Start 2 or dealt with the issue of the TMDs.” Campbell was back. “This has to do with the President’s reputation and America’s place as the dominant superpower.”

“So patriotism is your excuse for circumventing the Constitution?”

“Please Snake,” The Colonel sounded tired. “Just stop them...”

“Why should I?”

“Because you’re the only one who can.”

“In that case, tell me the truth about this new type of nuclear warhead.”

“I told you before, I don’t know the details!”

Snake huffed. “And I don’t believe you. If the situation is so serious, why don’t you give in to their demands? Let them have Big Boss’s remains.”

“You see...”

“Or is there some reason that you can’t do that? Something you haven’t told me about.” Snake asked, sarcasm dripping from every word. Naomi stepped in.

“Publicly the President has been very vocal in his opposition to eugenics experiments. We don’t want the existence to the genome army to go public.”

“And thats the only reason?” Snake asked, disbelieving. Silence. No one answered. “Huh! Fuck all of you!”

“I’m sorry.”

No he wasn’t. Snake couldn't keep talking about this, he'd have a fucking conniption. “The corpse of the DARPA chief is laying right here next to me but it’s strange, he looks and smells like he’s been here for days. All his blood’s been drained out too.”

Colonel’s head snapped up. “Drained!?”

“Maybe to slow down decomposition?” Naomi wagered.

“I have no idea.”

“But...” she sounded confused. “The Chief only died a few hours ago right?”

“Right, but he’s already started to decompose.

“What could it all be about?”

“Something in his blood that they wanted?”

Naomi made a disbelieving noise. “I doubt it...just the nano machines and the transmitter.”

“Did The Chief tell them his detonation code?” Campbell asked.

“I’m afraid so. It looks like they’ve got both codes and are nearly ready to launch.”

“Is there anyway to prevent it?”

“It seems that there’s some type of emergency override device that can cancel out the detonation code. It’s a counter measure that ArmsTech developed secretly. You have to unlock it with three special keys.”

“And where are those keys?”

“I’ve got one of them, I don’t know where the other two are.” Snake glared at the cell. “Besides, I’m locked up here.”

Campbell sighed. “We’ve got no choice- Snake, forget about the keys. Your top priority now is to destroy Metal Gear itself. I’m sorry to have to lay it all in your lap but you’re all I’ve got. Bust out of there and get to the communications tower.” Oh, sure, he’d get right on that. It’s just _so easy_ to escape from armed terrorists hell bent on torturing him. “Also-“

“What?” Snake snapped. He already had enough shit he had to do.

“I know it’s asking a lot...” Colonel murmured, sad.

“Meryl, right?” Snake sneered.

“Yeah.”

“I’ll do what I can.”

“Thanks.”

Snake terminated the call and pressed the heels of his palms to his eyes. Fucking Christ Almighty. If he had to destroy Metal Gear than that meant he had to bring Hal back into this mess and that was the _one thing_ Snake didn’t want to do. He sighed and went to type in Otacon’s number hoping against hope that the nerd was still okay after that torture bullshit.

It wasn’t to be.

The guard was at his door, sneering. “Snake, it’s show time. Ocelot wants you.”

Oh hell.

Snake let himself be bagged and dragged out of his cell and into the torture room, his hands bound and the grips of many guards on his body tight enough to bruise. The cold table pressed into his back and his extremities were locked into the cold restraints- they would be burning soon enough. The bag was ripped off and Snake glared up at the fucking ceiling.

The table started tilting up. “Okay, I’ll tell you once more-“ Snake was glad that Ocelot at least wouldn’t chew his ear off again. “I’m going to run an electric current through your body. When it becomes too much- just give up and it’ll stop.” The old man leaned back and grinned. “Don’t expect mercy from me. To me this isn’t torture- it’s a sport.”

Disgusting. “You’re all just a bunch of sadists.”

“Don’t confuse me with those uniformed fools.” Ocelot was momentarily angry before his face relaxed back into it’s easy glee. “Well...shall we begin?”

Did they have to? Ocelot was typing again. “Okay, here we go.”

Deep breath, camera shutter sound, unimaginable pain. Snake screamed, his head falling back and his back tighter than ever. Every fiber of his being was screaming right down to the very marrow of his bones. The seconds passed by like fucking hours- 5...6...7...8...- it stopped and Snake tried to pant but his lungs were too tight. All he did was wheeze.

Ocelot murmured something but Snake couldn’t hear it. The pain returned and Snake screamed involuntarily, his voice raw. Every muscle was tightening and relaxing over and over, pain and burning making the muscles feel like they were cooking. Snake couldn’t hear his own screams, he couldn’t taste the blood in his mouth from biting his cheek, couldn’t see the room. Everything was white and static and agony. The pain receded but Snake still felt it everywhere- like when a drowning man was pulled out of the water and even though he was on land there was still water in his mouth, lungs, stomach, ears- everywhere.

There was less than 30 seconds of rest this time but there was no meaning to increments of time to Snake- it was all a blur of Hell running past him. How much longer? He asked the non-existent God above as he screamed through another round of electricity frying his body. How much longer until his body gave out?

No rational thought- no strength giving mantra- made it into Snake’s consciousness. One moment would be pain, the next would be agony, the third would be hopelessness. Why was he alive? For whom did his heart beat? He had never had anyone- his body, mind, and soul were the prosperity of the US government and as such he ate when they told him to, he drank what they gave him, he fired the guns they placed into his hands. They kept him alive as long as he was useful.

The pain had stopped, Ocelot was saying something to Snake but he didn’t care. He hadn’t tapped out and now he just wanted to rest. Just take him away- throw him into his stupid cell so he could call Otacon. Maybe he could fucking get out of there before the guard came this time.

The bag was replaced and he was dragged back to his cell, too weak to even fight. They threw him into the cell, his body skidding across the hard floor. Snake laid still, his breathing slowing.

The Codec rang and Snake answered it.

“Snake?” The Colonel asked. “You okay?”

Snake didn’t say anything for a long moment. “...yeah, nothing new to report.”

“Snake is there anything I can do?” Naomi asked. Snake wanted them all to shut up.

“My body hurts.”

She sighed. “I’ll increase the amount of pain killers in your blood stream.”

Snake cracked an eye open. “Okay just leave out the Benzedrine. Shit makes me too frisky.”

There was a moment of quiet and Snake felt a bit of the edge leave his body, his muscles spasming less. He sighed in relief and Naomi chuckled. “Feel a bit better?”

Snake grumbled. He needed something to distract him and she was in the line anyway. “Naomi, talk to me. Distract me.”

“What can I say?”

“Anything.” He muttered, his arm twitching painfully.

“I...I’m not a very good talker. I don’t know what to say.”

“Just- tell me about your family I guess.”

She laughed humorlessly, “That’s not a very happy topic for me I’m afraid.”

Snake hummed in response. “I don’t have any family- well, I suppose that’s not true. There was a man who said he was my father.”

“Where is he?”

“Dead,” Snake’s voice was low, his eyes closed. “By my own hand.”

“Big Boss,” The colonel supplied, his voice sad. Naomi gasped.

“What? Big Boss!? I had no idea...”

“There is no way you could. It happened in Zanzibar 6 years ago- only Snake and I knew what really happened there.”

“So...” Naomi sounded confused, like her cognition of the world was being reordered. “Is it true? Was Big Boss really your father?”

“That’s what he said,” Snake mumbled, his body screaming for rest. “And that’s all I know.”

“And you were able to kill him? Knowing that?”

“Yup.”

Naomi was thunderstruck. “How?”

“He wanted it,” Snake thought back to how Gray Fox was at the end. How he had asked for death at the hands of his friend- had fucking _begged_. “Besides, some people just need death.”

“That’s Patricide!” Naomi exclaimed. Snake rolled his eyes.

“That’s the trauma that Psycho Mantis was talking about. The one we had in common.”

“Is that why you left FOXHOUND?” Snake remembered that mission, remembered having to kill his best friend because Frank had not wanted to keep living after his own unit had murdered his lover. He remembered Big Boss, how he had taught Snake how to fight and had given him his own name and Snake had never known...

“Let’s just say that I needed to be alone for a while and Alaska was the perfect place.” Until you dragged me out of retirement was left unsaid.

“Snake...” Naomi sounded sad- sadder than she had any right to be. “I didn’t have a real family either, just a big brother who put me through school. We weren’t even blood related and he was so much older than me...”

“And where is he?”

She choked back a sob. “He’s dead.”

Snake frowned, thinking of all the loved ones he had lost in his life. “I’m sorry.”

Naomi pulled herself together. “Snake? Is there a woman in your life?”

This again? Snake sighed. “After you’ve been through as many wars as me, it’s hard to trust anyone enough to have a relationship with them,” he said, purposely avoiding pronouns.

“Friends?”

Snake snorted. What even were friends? “Roy Campbell-“

The colonel cut in, surprised. “Huh? You’re still calling me a friend?”

“Is that it?” Naomi asked curiously.

Snake remembered sitting in the roofs of the barricades as a kid- the day giving way to night slowly and his body sore from training. He was just barely 13, had just started FOXHOUND’s boot camp and while most of the other recruits were inside- showering or sleeping or playing cards- Snake was up on the rooftop, a book in hand.

He remembered how alone he had always felt. He never had any family, never had any friends, and now here he was, finally able to make some, and he had no idea how to do that. As if on cue he heard someone climb up onto the rooftops and he turned, surprised to see one of the full fledged members of FOXHOUND climbing up, his silver hair glinting in he moonlight. The man was at least 15 years his senior and had plopped down beside him, wordlessly offering a cigarette which Snake had taken, the man smiling knowingly.

“No...” Snake wanted to cry but he had long since stoped being able to. “There was one other. Frank Jaeger.”

“What!?” Naomi gasped, surprise and shock making her voice breathy. The colonel hummed sagely.

“Big Boss’s most trusted lieutenant and the only member of FOXHOUND to receive the code name Fox- Grey Fox.”

Snake closed his eyes tightly, forcing his body upright. “I learned a lot from him...he was more of a father to me than Big Boss ever was.”

“But-“ Naomi’s voice was pinched and strange. “Didn’t you try to kill each other?”

“It’s true. We did- in Zanzibar- but it was nothing personal we were just... professionals on opposite sides is all.”

“And you still call yourself friends?” Naomi sounded incredulous.

“Hard to believe?” Snake sneered. “War is no reason to end a friendship.”

“That’s insane!”

Snake shrugged. “I first met him when FOXHOUND recruited me- still a kid- and he was always so cool and precise. I was still green and he showed me the ropes.”

“You knew him well?” Naomi’s voice was soft.

“Yes, but we tried to keep our personal lives out of it. One day he went out on a mission and he didn’t come back- they sent me out after him and...well the next time I saw him we were enemies. We were fighting barehanded in a minefield. I know it sounds strange to most people but...there was something different about him. The light had left his eyes. I was there and he asked me to kill him- it wasn’t personal.”

“What!? That’s barbaric- like wild animals!”

Snake grunted. War made beasts out of many a man. “You’re right, we are animals.”

Naomi grunted. “So if you were friends, then how do you explain the Ninja’s behavior?”

Snake knew. He knew why Frank wanted to die but like hell was it anyone’s business but his own. “I don’t know.”

“It’s your genes- you’re predisposed towards violence.” Naomi proclaimed. Snake growled.

“I don’t give a shit what my genes look like. I am who I am. Period. Genes may tell you who and where your ancestors came from but they alone are not what makes a person themselves.”

“I...” Naomi had no words and Snake hung up. He was done talking.

Snake turned his Codec to 141.12, his heart rate picking up slightly. It rang and Otacon answered.

“Otacon, are you still okay?”

Hal seemed a little shaken. “Yeah. Thanks to the stealth camouflage that is. You?”

“I have a favor to ask, I need your help.”

A sigh of relief. “I was wondering when you’d ask. What should I do?”

“I’ve been captured. I’m locked up here in this cell.”

“Which cell?” Snake could almost see Otacon adjusting his glasses.

“I don’t know exactly- there’s a big torture machine nearby.”

“T-Torture?” A deep breath. “Okay, I know it. I’m close, I’ll be right over.”

Snake swallowed his nervousness. God he hoped Hal wouldn’t get captured. “Thanks. Be careful.”

The call ended and Snake sighed deeply, sitting on his cot. He probably looked like absolute shit but whatever, there was nothing he could do about it now. He took slow breaths, counting out the seconds.

There was a loud sound like gurgling water and the guard doubled over, rushing from the room while clutching his stomach. Snake watched him on the Soliton as he ran into the bathroom. Fucking pathetic. A moment later, the door opened and Snake watched a mirage like blur run past his cell, turning the corner and skidding to a halt by the cell door. Snake stood and met him at the door.

“Hey,” Otacon hissed through the grate, his camo dropping. “It’s me!”

“Otacon,” Snake breathed, glancing him over. He had changed his clothes and was now wearing a graphic T-shirt, a hoodie, jeans, sneakers, and his lab coat over the ensemble. It was a good look for him.

“Wow, they even captured _you_.”

Snake reached out and touched Hal’s cheek, watching the scientist's face get redder. “Get me out,” he whispered. Hal backed away, hugging his arms to himself as his nose curled.

“Jeeze what a smell.” He gave Snake a strange look like he thought it was coming from him, Snake nodded over towards Anderson.

“It’s cause of him.”

Otacon crept forward and peeked through the bars, looking into his cell before jumping back. “Yuck! It’s the DARPA chief!”

Snake narrowed his eyes. “If you don’t hurry up and get me out of here, I’ll be laying next to him.”

The color drained from Hal’s already pale face, his breathing heavy. “Those bastards...”

Hal knelt and looked at the lock on the door. “This lock won’t open with a security card, you’d need a key like the soldiers carry.”

Snake sighed, leaning away from the bars. “So what are you doing here then?”

Otacon was digging around in his pocket. “I thought you’d might be hungry,” he passed a wrapped burger and a bottle of ketchup through the slats. Snake took them without complaint. It’s be nice to eat something warm for once. “I also brought you a level 6 keycard so that when you do get out you can leave the torture wing.” Otacon looked at Snake’s face, probably bruised from where the rifle was slammed into his face and maybe even bloody. He reached into another pocket and held out a handkerchief. “Here, take this as well. I got it from Sniper Wolf.”

Snake sneered at it. He didn’t want anything if that bitch had it first. “Why?”

“I-I don’t know, she’s nice to me...” Hal rubbed that back of his neck sheepishly.

“Sounds like classic Stockholm Syndrome to me.” Snake took the handkerchief anyway.

“I was taking care of the dogs here,” Hal was hugging himself again. He was probably cold. “After the terrorists took over they were planning to shoot all the dogs but Sniper Wolf stopped them. She even let me feed them when I asked... she likes dogs. Anyone who likes dogs must be a good person. Please- don’t hurt her.”

Snake huffed. “Otacon, she’s a ruthless killer. She shot an innocent woman just so she could fight me. She wants me dead- she was the one who captured me and gave me over to Ocelot so he could torture me. She doesn’t care about you or me or anything else- that’s just how it is.” Otacon’s face fell and Snake reached out, resting and hand in his shoulder. He offered a smile. “Besides...I like dogs and I’m not a good person.”

Hal thought on that, leaning his head against Snake’s hand for a moment. “Hey Snake? About the sou-“

Snake’s eyes widened in panic and he took his hand away. “The what? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He loudly interrupted Hal who looked so hurt Snake actually winced.

“But- I felt-“

Snake pressed a finger to his lips and shook his head frantically. “What was that? I couldn’t hear you.” Hal cocked his head to the side and Snake pantomimed writing on his hand. Otacon’s eyes widened and he dug through his coat pocket.

“O-oh, That’s right. I brought you some water too.” Hal fished out a bottle of water and a tiny notebook and pen, handing them through the bars. Snake pocketed the water and clicked the pen, flipping through the tiny pages full of the untidy scrawl that matched the writing on his leg until he found a blank page. There, in his bold, slanted lettering he printed.

‘Can’t talk now- gov. is always listening via codec. If they find out, they’ll KILL you.’

Snake handed it back through the bars. “Thanks, I was real thirsty.” Hal read the writing and his eyes widened, face loosing all the color it had left. Snake could feel a tidal wave of fear crash over him via their empathetic connection. It took his breath away. “You should probably get going before that guard comes back,” Snake prompted.

“Y-yeah. Okay.” Hal stepped back and reactivated his camo. “See ya later!”

Snake watched the blur run away, his chest feeling less tight now that he knew they were on the same page. He looked at the burger in his hands, squirted a little bit of ketchup on it, and ate it, scarfing the thing down as fast as he could so it wouldn’t get cold. He wiped at his mouth and noticed saw a smear of red on it and it took him a second to figure out if it was ketchup or blood.

It gave him an idea.

That guard who was patrolling around just might be stupid enough to not tell the difference at a distance. If Snake could get him inside his cell and close enough that he could reach out and grab the fucker, he might be able to escape. He glanced around the cell and found a plastic spoon under the bed. He broke it just enough that it might pass as a crude shank and he wiped some ketchup on it. Then, he poured out a generous amount on the floor, making a small puddle, before he laid down, inching forward so that his torso was over the red condiment and the fake weapon used in his apparent ‘suicide’ was easily seen in his slack hand.

He waited. The guard came back from his bathroom break and yelled “What the hell!?” before running into the room. Snake heard him open the door, run inside, and he felt a kick to the ribs. Quick as a flash, he snatched the guards leg and pulled him down, wrapping him in a choke hold and maintaining pressure until he lost consciousness. Snake gently laid him down and helped himself to the man’s keys. They could come in handy.

Using Wolf’s handkerchief and some of the water, Snake wiped the ketchup from his body before downing the rest in three big gulps. He wasn’t lying when he said he was thirsty. His gear was conveniently located just outside by the torture machine’s computer.

Too conveniently. Snake checked his gear. Nothing on his guns or grenades...bingo- a bomb was planted where he kept his rations. He tossed that onto the machine’s computer, sprinting away while he pulled on his sneaking suit. The bomb went off and the machines fell silent, now Ocelot would have to find some other way to torture his prisoners he thought with a smirk. He reloaded his gun, fondly running his hands over his weapons.

Solid Snake was back in action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whooooo boy this chapter kicked my ass. I hate writing torture scenes and so I kept finding excuses so we wouldn’t get to this part like- oh Fishy let’s play Persona 5 tonight instead okay? But I got it done.
> 
> Don’t forget to leave a comment and a kudos before you go and check back soon for the next chapter!


	12. PART ELEVEN: LEVELS

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter fought me like hell- partly because the goddamn stairway scenes piss me the fuck off and I was avoiding doing them and mostly because my boyfriend was working overtime all week and so when I went to write this chapter I would have to play a while, then pause and write, then play some more and it was super annoying. But whatever, it’s done so here you go!
> 
> —:—

Snake ducked his head from around the doorway to peek into the surrounding area. Apparently the torture chamber was located in the one hallway with the two turret guns that Snake had decided was more trouble than it was worth earlier. He darted out just past their limited range of view and made a break for the elevator, riding it up to the first floor.

He needed to get to REX’s hanger. Fast.

The lasers that had been such a pain to get through the first time now seemed to be permanently deactivated and when the bay doors slowly rose, the cold winter wind immediately swept through the area, the tails of Snake’s bandana whipping out behind him. The mine field was no longer even seen as a threat to Snake who opted to take the right hand passage where there was only one claymore to avoid. The cameras guarding the nuclear warhead storage building were still a giant pain in the ass but Snake managed to slip past them undetected.

Snake slipped past the guards and rode the elevator down to B2 first, pulling his gas mask on and doing another run through the scientists’ tiny offices, finding a metric ass ton of chaff grenades and some body armor that Snake _knew_ had not been there before. He decided that to think too hard about it wouldn’t be worth his time- better to spend it focused on completing the mission.

The faster he could destroy REX, the sooner he could devote his undivided attention to his soulmate. God, just _thinking_ that word made Snake want to blush. He was finally starting to understand all that mushy crap he had sometimes heard those lucky enough to find their other halves wax lyrically about- how just meeting them was enough for you to “ _know_ ”.

The elevator ride back up to B1 was uneventful and the hallway leading to the commander’s quarters was still suspiciously deserted for the time being. Snake ran into the room where he fought Psycho Mantis, noting that at some point, someone else had been in here and had moved Mantis, the emaciated body no longer laying like someone who had died using the last of his strength to move a bookcase with his mind- his arm limp at his side and body uncomfortably sprawled out- but was now positioned into a stance that looked a little more like he was just sleeping if one ignored the bloody wounds, hands together over the abdomen and feet together. Probably one of his fellow comrades had passed through, taking a moment to pay their respects. Snake continued on into the chilly passageway between the commander’s quarters and the wolf den.

The wolves were surprisingly docile now that Snake not only had his cardboard box but had their master’s handkerchief tucked into his belt. Snake even managed to gently pat one of their heads on his way through to where Meryl had been shot and Snake had been captured. Campbell called and Snake once again apologized for what happened to Meryl. There was a crackle and Master Miller was patched through.

“That’s not like you Snake.” He said and Snake narrowed his eyes. He had spent years training under this guy, and lord knows he wasn’t exactly the easiest person to get along with but he had always had a tiny soft spot when it came to friends being taken by the enemy (provided he liked the captive, of course)- Snake had always figured it was because of Miller’s own experiences as a hostage and POW- but this level of callousness towards the situation was uncharacteristic of him. “Sorry for eavesdropping but I just couldn’t listen anymore. Snake, you can have regrets if you want to- it’s only natural- but you can’t keep attacking yourself for things that happened in the past. That road only leads to madness.”

“That’s right,” Mei Ling’s soft Chinese accent cut through. “Don’t kick yourself, it doesn’t suit a legend like you. I’m sure Meryl’s just fine.”

Snake knew she was only trying to help but her words still irritated him. He _hated_ it when people called him a hero and a legend, glorifying what he did as anything more or less than simple, plain, ruthless murder. Campbell cut back in and said that Snake should complete the mission as it was what Meryl would have wanted. Snake was just about to hang up when Naomi patched herself through.

“Snake?”

“What,” Snake was only a few shades short of snapping at her.

“Meryl...she’s pretty special to you huh?”

Snake rolled his eyes. If by “special” they meant that he had almost started to like the kid then yeah but it seemed like everyone thought he _liked_ her as anything other than a friend. Snake had always known that most people had assumed that from his looks he would be a ladies man- figured that because women were often attracted to him that he must reciprocate the sentiment- and Snake really couldn’t blame them. It’s not like he went around telling everyone “Hello, I’m Solid Snake and I like fucking men!” but...he at least thought Campbell would have picked up on that fact that not once in all the years they had known each other had Snake ever had a relationship- casual or otherwise- with a woman.

“I guess,” was what he finally settled on saying. “There aren’t many women like her around.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Naomi muttered. Snake huffed, irritated.

“She’s the colonel’s niece and a combat buddy.”

“Is that all? C’mon...” Naomi pried and Snake wanted to punch her. Meryl was only barely 18- a literal teenager still- and Snake was a grown ass 32 year old man who was rapidly approaching his 33rd birthday that July. The _last_ thing he wanted to do was take advantage of a kid who had a hero crush on him.

“What is this a police interrogation? She’s just a friend.”

“No I just- _really?_ ” Naomi sounded disbelieving and that irritated Snake. Why did every single person on his support team want him to like the girl? What did it matter to them if Snake would rather kiss that nerdy scientist then Meryl?

“I guess it’s in the genes...” Campbell interjected, amused. What the fuck was that supposed to mean?

“The genes? What the hell are you talking about Colonel?”

He chuckled. “No, I just remembered about Naomi’s grandfather. I think she said he rose as high as assistant secretary in the FBI under Hoover.”

Snake wondered how the hell they had gone from needling him about his love life to talking about Naomi’s grandfather- maybe because he was an interrogator and Naomi's behavior reminded Campbell of that fact or something? Whatever. He wouldn’t question it if it got them off his back. “That right?”

“Yes,” Naomi sounded surprised. Maybe the change in topic threw her off balance too. “Yes he was Japanese and he became a special undercover investigator to nab the mafia.”

“When was that?” Miller interjected, his tone harsh. 

“Oh...sometime in the 50s, I guess.”

Something in her voice bothered Snake but he’d be damned if he was gonna investigate further. This frivolous conversation had gone on for far too long and Snake did not want to prolong it. 

“Where?” Miller asked.

“Um...New York, I think.”

“Naomi,” Miller’s voice was cold and strange. “I thought you said you didn’t have any family.”

“Well I- I researched them when I became an adult. My grandfather was dead by then, I never had the chance to meet him. "Snake-" she sounded anxious. “Good luck.”

“Watch your back Snake,” the Colonel added.

Snake hung up. God he wished they would stop calling him for no reason so he could focus. There was so much shit he had to do and he didn’t need to be spending his limited time talking about his medical advisor’s fucking grandfather.

He pulled out his binoculars and carefully scanned the catwalk, making sure there were no more snipers lurking if only to avoid looking at the blood stains left by Meryl. Clear. He continued into the corridor he had been trying to get into when Wolf had cornered him.

Bitch.

Snake crept down the hallway, his soldier sense tingling. Maybe it was paranoia or the fact that he’d recently been captured right there but something was odd. Snake opened the next door and immediately a turret spotted him, an alarm blaring in the night and Snake grimaced- every fucking guard in this goddamn area was going to come running. There was a coil of rope laying on one of the crates and Snake snapped it up, hearing footsteps running towards him and he readied a stun grenade, waiting until the guards had rounded the corner before throwing it and shielding his eyes from the bright glare. The guards stopped in their tracks, the bright light and noise incapacitating them for several seconds allowing Snake to dash up the stairs.

Snake got up the first two floors without issue but he threw another stun grenade on the landing to keep anyone from following him. Every fourth staircase Snake threw out another stun grenade, keeping the guards down for the count and letting him climb the seemingly never ending stairs to the correct floor. The paint on the wall read 6 and Snake pressed the card to the reader.

Nothing.

Snake tried again and heard the reader beep and except the card but the door wouldn’t budge. Fuck.

Snake quickly called Otacon.

“Snake,” he sounded relieved that he had escaped from prison, Snake hastily cut him off.

“I’m at the door leading to the walkway but it won’t budge, even with the card.”

“Huh?” Otacon paused and Snake head his smack his forehead. “Oh right, I totally forgot.”

Snake heard the guards climbing the stairs and he threw another stun grenade down. “Do you know something?”

“That door sometimes gets frozen shut cause of the cold.”

Snake would have strangled anyone else if they had forgotten such an important detail but as it was, Snake found he was only mildly annoyed. “Next time, tell me before hand.” The stun grenade went off buying Snake another couple seconds. “So what should I do?”

“It’s impossible to open from the inside, they usually get it open by using C4 on the ice or something.”

Fucking perfect. “So how do I get outside?”

“There are two walkways that connect Tower A and Tower B. The other one is on the roof.”

More stairs. Lovely. “So head to the roof. Got it.”

Otacon hesitated for a second, wavering between whether he should say something else or not. “Be careful,” he finally murmured before terminating the call.

Snake sighed and tossed another stun grenade, running up the next three flights of stairs. There were more guards here and as Snake climbed up a seemingly endless number of stairs he found himself wondering if they would ever end. Finally, after at least 18 sets of stairs Snake reached the landing that said ‘ROOF ACCESS’ and he threw another stun grenade. How many was that now? 8? Whatever. There was the customary flash-bang and Snake made a break for the ladder, climbing it quickly.

Standing in the roof, Snake felt the snow storm whip around him, the wind bitterly cold and the floor slick with ice. He inched forward- at least the snow itself had died down, no longer making visibility zero. There were huge satellite dishes mounted in two neat rows and Snake squinted at the roof, looking for the door Otacon mentioned.

There. Over on the other side of the roof. Snake started walking across the slippery metal, heading towards the raised platform separating the dishes and other equipment from the access path. No sooner had Snake touched his foot to the connecting stairs did the sky explode into a bright, loud, fireball of dozens of short range missiles. Snake instantly braced himself.

The impact and resulting explosion shook the building, the ice and blast waves making it difficult for Snake to keep his foothold. He squinted out between his arms, watching as one of the dishes groaned and fell. Snake’s vision was white for a long moment, his ears ringing, and when he finally was able to see and hear again he heard the tell tale thrum of helicopter blades.

The Hind D. Of course.

“SNAKE!!!” Liquid’s voice boomed over the helicopter’s loudspeaker. “I’m afraid I can’t let you get past here. You’re not going any farther!” The helicopter started forward, moving to attack Snake. “DIE!!!”

Snake ran towards the remains of the walkway, his boots threatening to slip on the icy metal, and he gazed down at the mangled wreck. He had no way to get across now.

Unless...

It was insane- rappelling freehand down a large building was dangerous even in the best conditions but doing so during a snowstorm with high winds while under fire from a fucking helicopter? Suicide.

“What are you going to do?” Liquid taunted. “Take on a Hind with your bare hands? Now- you’re mine!”

He didn’t have a choice though. Time was ticking and if he stayed where he was he would surely die. Snake pulled out the rope he had snatched earlier and looked at the sturdy steel railing.

A constrictor knot was his best bet. He tied it quickly- two loops around the pole, slip under the first loop, twist through the second loop- pull tight. One leg over the other, grip the rope just like Master taught him, deep breath, start descent.

The rope slid slowly through Snake’s gloved hands and he glanced over his shoulder. The first foothold would be coming up. Liquid sprayed the side of the building with bullets but the arch was too low, he had misjudged how fast Snake’s descent would be. Snake touched down on the foothold and rested his grip for a moment, loosening his hands but not letting go. He pushed away from the building once again.

Every time he swung out the wind threatened to whip him away, Snake slid down the rope, his teeth clenched. This was not fun. Liquid fired again and Snake pushed himself away from the wall, leaning right and avoiding the gun fire. There were steam vents further down, the scalding vapor painful to touch but it was hard for Snake to control his decent when he had to constantly dodge gunfire and fight against the wind. He was shivering, his body cold and exposed- When he got home he was going to take the hottest shower known to mankind.

Slowly, then terrifyingly quickly, then slowly again Snake rappelled down the building. His heart was pounding, his hands burned. He was not sure why he was reacting so violently to the stress of it all- sure this was dangerous but Snake was used to dangerous. This was his job.

The lower walkway was in sight- Strut A- and Snake pushed off the building one more time, descending dangerously fast as Liquid’s bullets came within an inch of shooting Snake’s hand. He looked down, took a deep breath, and jumped the rest of the way down, landing on the walkway in a hard roll that was sure to leave a bruise on his shoulder.

He didn’t have time to worry about that. Snake started running across the walkway, throwing a stun grenade in front of him and shielding his face from the worst of it. The flash stopped the heavy fire he was under by the three armed guards and Snake ran at breakneck speed, pushing past the guards and throwing a stun behind him so he wouldn’t get shot in the back.

He pressed the card to the reader, his heart pounding unexplainably fast. There was a Stinger missile launcher and some ammunition on the boxes just inside the doorway and Snake picked them up- his gear must weigh a fucking ton right now. The guards didn’t follow- did they not have a level 6 card? Snake could not fucking care less.

Snake went through the door, following the metal grates until he reached the central elevator and staircase. The stairs were blocked and Snake glared at the offending boxes. Instead, he pressed the button for the elevator and it flashed yellow then red.

The fuck?

Whatever. Snake took the central stairs down instead since he, apparently, was barred from going up. He went down 7 floors before he reached an area where the stairs had fallen through. He loudly cursed for a moment and then went back up, irritated. Just because he had great stamina and amazing calves, thighs, and glutes didn’t mean that running up and down seemingly endless fucking stairs was _easy_. He reached the floor where the elevator currently was and stopped in his tracks.

He wasn’t alone.

He could hear their breathing and the shuffle of their feet. Snake narrowed his eyes and looked for their position and didn’t see it. He looked again and saw the mirage like blur of optic camouflage and he drew his Socom, eyes narrowed to slits. He was so fucking _done_ with people trying to ambush him. The figure cried out.

“Don’t shoot!” The camo flickered off and Snake saw Hal standing with his hands raised in surrender. “It’s me Snake- don’t shoot!”

“Otacon,” Snake lowered his gun slowly, relaxing minutely. “How’d you get here?”

Otacon lowered his hands and stuffed them into the pockets of his lab coat. “It wasn’t as dramatic as your entrance believe me- I’m afraid of heights.”

He’s afraid of- oh.

_Oh._

“You were watching?”

“Yeah,” Otacon pushes his glasses up his nose, his hands having the distinct tremble of someone who was coming down from the adrenaline high of being scared. “I was watching. I was riding in the back of their truck thanks to this” he tapped the button he wore under his lapel.

Well that explained why Snake was so freaked out during his rappel down. If Hal was close by, watching, and had been scared for him then the link binding them together must have amplified those emotions in Snake as well. Snake awkwardly rubbed at the back of his head. He would never admit it out loud but it felt really _really_ good to have someone actually _care_ about his well-being. Yeah sure, Campbell and the others cared if he died or was captured but there was always something else- some ulterior motive for wanting him alive be it so he could accomplish a mission or rescue a loved one or whatever else- but Snake always got the impression that no one really cared if _he_ was in danger or hurt or scared. Having someone stand before him- someone who had known him for less than 6 hours and knew almost _nothing_ about him nonetheless- that genuinely, altruistically _cared_ was just...

Snake didn’t think he’d felt that in a long long time. Maybe he had never felt that in his life. It was overwhelming. Hal shuffled his feet, anxious under Snake’s gaze and Snake snapped out of it, coughing awkwardly.

“How’d you get up here?” He asked.

Hal cocked his head. “The elevator of course.”

Snake looked at the elevator suspiciously. “The first floor of the staircase was destroyed...” he mused. Otacon rolled his eyes, fondly exasperated.

“Yes, that’s why I took the elevator.”

“The elevator was working?” Snake asked, confused. Hal furrowed his brow, one of his dark curls falling across his face.

“Yeah... that’s right.”

Snake moved to the side and rested his forearms on the railing, bowing his head and gazing down the dark stairwell. He heard Otacon step forward, moving towards him.

“You’re incredible...” Hal’s voice was tinged with awe and reverence, his emotions clear and earnest to Snake. “Like a movie hero or something.”

Normally Snakes hates it when people hero worshipped him- when they put him on a pedestal and had unrealistic expectations of him- but Hal... Hal didn’t mean it like that. He meant that the way Snake persevered and moved relentlessly towards his goal was nothing short of amazing. Snake laughed softly.

“No...you’re wrong. I’m no hero. In the movies the hero always saves the girl right? Saves the day?”

“You mean Meryl?” Hal bit his lip. “...never mind. Sorry. Forget I said anything.” Otacon was close now, close enough that if Snake wanted to he could easily touch Hal by moving his hand less than a foot away from where it currently was. Silence stretched heavy for a moment. “Snake? There’s something I’ve really gotta ask you. It’s why I followed you all the way up here.”

Snake turned his head and their eyes met. Otacon took a deep breath and steeled himself. “Have you...ever loved someone?”

“That’s what you came to ask?” Snake’s voice was soft- gently trying to get Hal to say what he really wanted to say.

“No...I just- I was just wondering if even soldiers fall in love.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I wanna ask you...” Hal’s face was getting red, blushing furiously. “Do you think love can bloom- even on a battlefield?”

Snake smiled a little. God he was such a _dork_ but... god the way he had asked that question made Snake’s heart ache. He took a moment and thought about every soldier he knew who had claimed they were in love. Sure, there were many who had said that drunkenly while on leave at some seedy bar or strip club, blowing their pay on booze and babes but then there were a few who he knew had genuinely been in love.

He thought of the two girls he had done basic with who ended up sharing twin nicknames- Flaming and Silent Butterfly- and a twin bed. He thought of the one commander he had during the Gulf War who could be seen writing home every week in the mess hall to the family he left behind, assigning brutal drills to any man who dared mock him. He remembered the content joy on Grey Fox’s face when he had briefly returned following a mission, requesting leave so he could be with his soulmate. Could soldiers fall in love? Of course. At their very core soldiers were, in the end, still human.

“Yeah...I do. I think at any time, any place, people can fall in love with each other. But...if you love someone, you have to be able to protect them.”

Hal pushed his round glasses up, fidgeting slightly. “I think so too.”

Snake watched Otacon for a long moment, taking in his wet and worn tennis shoes, his faded jeans and well loved white hoodie, the cartoonish grin of a red haired character on a blue background peaking out of his hoodie- white Japanese characters spelling out 'Cowboy Bebop', whatever that meant. Snake was fluent in Japanese but didn’t know much about the culture or entertainment. Hal’s lips were chapped and his glasses were clearly too big for his face but he had a sort of naïve cuteness about him that made Snake’s heart speed up.

God he was so _fucked_.

“I have a favor to ask,” Snake eventually said, standing upright and making eye contact with the scientist.

“Uh oh.” Immediately Snake could read all over this man’s face that he was nervous- scared of failing, scared of killing, scared of disappointing- it was as easy to understand as black print on crisp white paper.

“Don’t worry,” Snake smiled gently, his tone gentler than he had heard it in a long time. “It’s easy.”

“I told you before- I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

Snake held out his hands, placating. “I know, I don’t want you to either.”

“Okay.”

Snake nodded to the elevator shaft. “The elevator is stopped down there. I’d like you to get it to move.”

Otacon leaned over the railing, one hand holding his glasses in place so they wouldn’t fall into the abyss. “Huh! That’s weird.”

Snake strode over to to him. “It was working before but now it isn’t, do you know why?”

“Maybe the panel’s broken...”

“Can you fix it?”

Hal turned and nodded, confident. “If it’s the mechanism just leave it to me.”

Snake heard the drone of helicopter blades above and he glared at the ceiling. “I’ve got to go swat down a noisy fly.” 

“What!?” Hal’s eyes widened. “You are seriously gonna fight a Hind D by yourself!?”

Snake shrugged. “You worry about that elevator, I’ll worry about the helicopter okay?”

Hal bit his lip, clearly upset, and Snake gasped when he was embraced tightly. Hal’s arms were skinny and they wrapped all the way around his waist, his face pressed against his chest. He was so warm. Snake hesitantly returned the embrace, his hands coming to rest on the engineer’s back. The hug could not be comfortable for Otacon- not with all of Snake’s gear and guns and the suit itself had rough straps crossing over his chest and down past his stomach to his thighs and Hal’s face was pressed right into that. They stood there for several seconds, just soaking in each other’s warmth, but eventually Snake let his arms loosen, let the two of them part.

Otacon’s eyes were red, tear tacks marring his face. Snake placed a hand in his shoulder. “You look like hell- you gonna be okay?”

“Yeah,” Otacon took his glasses off and wiped his eyes. “Yeah I’m fine. With this it won’t even matter.” He activated his optic camouflage and gestured to his body with his arms. “I’ll just pretend I’m not even there and I won’t get scared.”

Snake squeezed reassuringly, allowing a small smile to grace his features. “I’m counting on you.”

“Alright,” the Hal shaped mirage nodded. “Be careful!” He said before turning and jogging off to find the elevator’s maintenance panel. Snake sighed deeply.

The boxes were a pain in the ass to move. They were heavy and Snake was tired but he managed to shuffle enough of them around so that he could safely climb over the annoying obstacle. The stairs up to the roof of this building we mercifully unguarded but there were mounted turrets on the wall. Snake tossed a chaff grenade and ran up the first two stories before throwing another one and continuing on.

It was tedious but his he kept to his pattern, the cameras didn’t even have a moment to detect him. Throw grenade, wait, run up 4 flights of stairs, stop, repeat. Four rounds of doing that and Snake reached the top, the drone of the helicopter blades making any unsecured item shake ominously.

Snake ran around the metal walkway, rummaging through the boxes that lined the wall and grabbing some more stinger missiles, another ration, and some more chaff grenades.

The ladder leading up to the roof was dark and Snake stared up it, steeling himself for the fight that was surely about to go down.

He could do this- he _had_ to do this.

He'd promised Hal.


	13. PART TWELVE: HIND D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this instead of doing my German homework! Yay! I’m gonna pay for this poor life choice later but in the meantime enjoy!~
> 
> —:—

Just as Snake was about to climb up the ladder to the roof, his Codec rang. Snake pressed the receiver.

“It looks like Liquid really wants to have a showdown with you,” Campbell’s voice grumbled, his attention glued to whatever he was watching. “I’m looking at Mei Ling’s digitally enhanced satellite images right now.”

“Yeah, he’s just circling around like a buzzard,” Naomi added, similarly enraptured.

Did they seriously just call him to say this? To tell him that they were waiting for him to go up there so they could fucking watch him fight to the death against a helicopter? 

“Well I hope everyone is enjoying the live broadcast,” Snake spat, angry. This wasn’t some fucking action movie- this was his fucking _life_. His mental and physical well-being may not have meant much to the people in Washington- hell, it probably didn’t fucking mean much to Campbell and the others either- but it was somewhat important to Snake. He was here involuntarily, having been literally dragged out of his home by a bunch of armed soldiers to be sent on this fucking mission because why not? He wasn’t in charge of what missions he was sent on, he couldn’t refuse to take one even if he wanted to, and apparently his moving to a remote location only accessible by helicopter or snow mobile or dog sled wasn’t enough of a clue that he wanted to be left the fuck alone.

He was so tired of not having a say in his own goddamn life.

“Sorry Snake,” Campbell at least had the decency to sound somewhat sincere, “I wish I could do something to help.”

“Snake I don’t like it. Please don’t go up to the roof,” Naomi’s British accent floated over the conversation, her tone not matching the seriousness of the situation.

“I have to,” Snake glared up at the hatch where beyond he could hear the helicopter blades roaring into the cold night air. “I can’t run from this one.”

As Snake ended the call, he received another from that Nastasha woman, the one in California. Snake picked up.

“You have a Stinger missiles so you at least have a chance against that Hind,” her thick Slavic accent was muted by the cigarette she had between her lips. The frank way she framed her conversations was a welcome change from the lies and superfluous beating-around-the-bush Campbell and his cronies favored.

“Only a chance?”

“Well you are not exactly evenly armed,” Nastasha took her cigarette out of her mouth, probably to tap the ash away into an ashtray. “That Hind is a monster, you only have a small chance at winning. But,” she put her cigarette back in her mouth, “at least it is better than no chance.”

“That’s a pretty grim analysis Nastasha,” Snake grumbled, not sounding quite as irritated as before. At least she was up front with his about his chances.

“To shoot that thing down, you’ll need to get to a place with good visibility. Do not try to fight in that walkway- get up on the roof where you’ll have a clean shot at him!” Snake was planning on doing that anyway but at least Nastasha was treating this like an actual battle instead of a bad action movie. Snake terminated the call and strapped the body armor he'd found earlier to his body. Anything to give him a tiny advantage in the coming fight. He climbed the ladder.

Liquid, true to form, was literally hovering over the roof when Snake arrived. He wasted no time in starting his cocky taunts.

“So, Snake’s finally come out of his hole?” Liquid sounded angry, deranged almost. “Are you ready now, brother?”

This again. Snake shouted into the night, frustrated. “This again- who the fuck are you!? Why are you calling me brother!?”

“I’m You!” How Liquid has managed to hear him over the noise was anyone’s guess but Snake supposed it didn’t really matter. “I’m your shadow.”

“What!?” That didn’t even make fucking sense. If what Liquid was saying was true and they really were brothers, wouldn’t that make Snake his equal?

“Ask the father that you killed!” Liquid sounded bitter. “I’ll send you to Hell to meet him!”

The helicopter pulled up and flew directly over Snake’s head and he had to fight the urge to clap his hands over his ears, clenching his jaw. It was so fucking loud up here. Liquid got into fighting position and Snake took cover behind some crates, the ground where he had been standing getting sprayed with bullets. He readied the Stinger.

During the reload, Liquid started to move around the building and Snake darted out from behind his cover just long enough to take aim and track his movements for the three seconds required for the Stinger to get a accurate trajectory. The missile hit the helicopter body and seemingly did very lite damage. Fuck.

Liquid sprayed bullets at Snake from the north now, his previous hiding spot now in the line of fire. Snake crouched low and hid behind the box’s other side, waiting for a window. There. Snake fired the Stinger and it swung wide of its target, hitting the body again when Snake had wanted it to hit the more vulnerable tail. Liquid tisked, obviously wearing some kind of headset, and moved back to where he was before, reloading. Snake ran to the western railing where he had an unobstructed view of the Hind.

His missile hit true but the armor on the Hind barely rattled. Snake ran, bullets pinging against the rooftop dangerously close to his legs. He took cover behind the northern side of the crates. The next missile missed completely, thrown off course by the wind. Liquid laughed and Snake fired again, hitting him dangerously close to his blades, making the helicopter sway ominously necessitating for Liquid to focus on steering for a precious few seconds.

Snake rounded the box, circling the same direction as Liquid but slightly faster, and aimed again. As the missile flew true to its trajectory Liquid sprayed a barrage of bullets at Snake’s cover, some pinging off the metal and embedding in the body armor. They’d leave a nasty bruise but it didn’t break skin.

Snake squeezed off one more missile, hitting the body and denting the armor noticeably when Liquid snarled over the intercom. “Eat this!”

A large missile was headed towards the roof and Snake quickly calculated where the blast radius would be, running to the western railing and pressing himself flat against the stairwell. He could feel the heat from the explosion and he squinted out, moving from his horrible vantage point into a more conventional place to hide not a moment too soon. The bullets from the machine gun hit right where he had been standing; if he hadn’t moved when he did, he would surely be dead.

Liquid dipped down to circle out of Snake’s field of vision and Snake watched his Soliton radar, following Liquids movements and waiting for him to come back up. There, from the north. The Stinger hit the helicopter dead on, exploding right in front of Liquid’s reenforced windshield. Not the best place for damage purposes but oh so satisfying to hear Liquid swear loudly at the bright light and duck back down to circle below and get his eyes readjusted.

Snake checked his ammo. 9 left. Had to make them count.

This time when Liquid resurfaced it was at the eastern side of the roof, the bullets sailing over Snake’s head in a wide arch. Another Stinger hit its mark as Liquid flew over head, exploding on the belly of the aircraft and making it waver in the air.

Liquid’s hide and seek method was tedious as fuck. Snake continued his effective strategy of wait, follow his movements on the radar, and then launch the missile when he came up to shoot. The only problem was that Liquid’s bullets kept coming uncomfortably close to hitting their mark- Snake was sure that one of the had torn through the tail of his bandanna but he didn’t exactly have time to check.

The next missile hit Liquid right in the tail rudder, the Hind threatening to spin out of control and making Liquid scream colorful insults that were so delightfully British that Snake couldn’t help but smirk and fire another missile while he was vulnerable. If Liquid was going to try to ambush one man in a fucking armored helicopter, Snake was going to fight dirty.

Back to his low altitude circling, Snake listened to the engine’s labored chugging. He was finally getting the Hind on the ropes. Fucking Christ but Nastasha wasn’t kidding- that thing was a monster.

Lucky for Snake, so was he.

Only two missiles left. Better make then count. Liquid rose from the West this time, firing wildly, going wide by a comfortable degree and getting a missile to the right flank for his troubles. Snake noticed black smoke rising and several bits of loose armor falling to the ground. Would Liquid retreat?

No. He went back to circling and Snake shook his head. A wiser man would have known when to retreat and regroup but not Liquid- his pride and ego would be his undoing. Snake waited patiently- one more missile before he had to go get more but hopefully it wouldn’t come to that. Liquid rose to the north but the helicopter was listing dangerously to the left, drifting west and slowly loosing altitude despite Liquid’s best attempts at keeping it steady- he really was a fantastic pilot. Too bad he was also a psychotic terrorist hell bent on killing Snake.

The last Stinger exploded right at the junction where the blades met the body and immediately Snake knew that the helicopter was going down. Liquid screamed an insult over the loud speaker but Snake couldn’t hear it over all the noise. He fired his second rocket, laughing unhinged as Snake dove for cover and the huge shell exploded, engulfing the roof in flames. A second explosion from the rotor and the frantically beeping alarms from a dying aircraft followed the flames and the helicopter started its tailspin.

“C’mon- Fly!” Liquid fought valiantly, trying to get the Hind stable enough to glide but the mechanisms were busted, the controls jammed. The helicopter started rapidly descending and as it fell from view Snake could hear Liquid screaming his name into the night, livid.

Snake snorted and the explosion of the Hind D hitting the Earth rattled the base and all the surrounding area. No way anybody could ignore _that_. The bastard should have retreated when he had the chance. “See you in Hell, Liquid,” Snake grumbled, giving a cheeky salute to the wreckage. The inferno raged, burning bright and hot in the frigid Alaskan night. That takes care of the cremation, Snake thought, in a ridiculously good mood. Maybe it was just the combat high or adrenaline rush or whatever but privately Snake thought it had more to do with hope than anything.

The Hind D was now out of the picture and Otacon had surely made progress on that elevator. They were well on their way to finally getting the fucking Metal Gear destroyed and being able to get off this godforsaken island.

Wait, they? When did Snake start thinking of him and Otacon as a team? He always worked alone and yet...

The idea of having Otacon by his side, working together towards a greater goal... Snake liked the sound of that. He fucking _wanted_ that so badly that it was dangerous. Putting the life of a civilian before the success of a mission was never a good idea and if the government even suspected that Hal was distracting Snake from his goal...

The nerd would be dead. Period.

A call came through and Snake answered it. Speak of the devil...

“Snake,” Otacon sounded relieved that he picked up. He had probably head the noise and maybe even felt Snake’s emotions during. “The elevator’s working.”

“You fixed it?” That was fast.

“No, that’s the weird thing! It just moved by itself! Anyway, it’s headed your way now.”

Suspicious. Snake was positive that Liquid had sabotaged the elevator to draw him out. “Is that so? Okay.”

Otacon bit his lip, hesitating. “That explosion before...what was it?” Snake could hear the uncertainty and fear. He was scared but Snake couldn’t pinpoint why. Was he still safe?

“Oh I had to take out that helicopter.” Snake sounded so nonchalant- like taking out the helicopter was as easy as taking out the trash.

“You did?” Otacon sounded interested and excited and awestruck all at once. “That’s incredible Snake!”

Snake blushed slightly. “Yeah well...listen, I just want to make sure again- this is the way to where Metal Gear is stored right?”

“Mmhmm!” Otacon’s confidence had clearly been boosted by their apparent progress. “The entrance to the underground maintenance base is towards the back of the snowfield ahead.”

“Okay,” Snake remembered earlier, when he had started thinking of them as a team. He had to keep Hal safe and that meant having as little contact with him as possible. The thought made Snake’s chest constrict painfully. “I want you to find somewhere to hide out for a while. I’m going underground.”

“I know, I know. You don’t have to tell me.” Otacon sounded slightly exasperated but a little irritation was worth it if it kept him alive.

‘This is for Hal’ Snake thought. ‘I have to protect him- even if it means I need to be mean to him. They can’t know he’s important to me- they’ll take him away. They’ll take him away and kill him just like they did with Gray Fox’s soulmate.’

“And stay out of my way- don’t try to be a hero or anything!” Snake forced his voice to be harsh, his heart aching as the words left his mouth.

“Okay,” Otacon didn’t sound happy but at least he wasn’t mad. He knew that their conversation was not private and therefore Snake had to maintain a attitude of indifference despite what he actually felt. Hal knew from the way Snake cradled his face in the prison to the way he held him close 15 minutes prior that Snake did care. Snake could feel the way Hal took the news- the way he felt the sting of the words but tried valiantly to not take it personally. “Call if you need to,” Hal added, unable to keep the concern out of his voice completely.

Snake hung up. Jesus Christ what did he get himself into? Snake climbed down the ladder and sprinted down the stairs, tossing a chaff grenade that detonated moments before he passed the first turrets. He ran down the stairs continuously, tossing a chaff grenade every two staircases so that they detonated right before the last one wore off insuring Snake could keep going.

It was so much easier now that he knew where the damn turrets were.

Snake reached the elevator but didn’t bother to take off his body armor. Something about this felt fishy- it was too conveniently timed, too easy. Experience had taught Snake that things were never easy on the battlefield. “If things are easy, it’s a trap,” Miller had said once and Snake had yet to find an instance where he was wrong. He pushed the button and waited.

The doors slid open and Snake carefully scanned over the inside. It was a little dim but otherwise empty. He crept inside and a loud buzzer went off, making him flinch slightly. He exited the elevator and squinted at it suspiciously, his soldier sense screaming to get out of there. He tried again and again the same buzzer. Swallowing his thick apprehension, Snake pulled out a stun grenade and pressed the button for the ground floor. Slowly, the elevator began it’s decent and Snake got a call from Otacon.

“There’s something I forgot to tell you before.”

Oh Hell. “What?”

“There were 5 stealth camouflage prototypes in my lab.”

“Yeah, So?” Get to the point babe.

“Well if you take out the one I’m wearing that leaves four.” Snake rolled his eyes. He had an IQ of 180, he could do simple arithmetic.

“Hey, this isn’t first grade math class!” He interrupted, mildly irritated. Just because he could fucking fight didn’t mean he was stupid.

“Well I thought I’d get one for you, so I went back to the lab and...” Snake blinked, taken aback. Hal wanted to help him so bad that he had risked his life sneaking back to his lab to retrieve another stealth camo? That was...well it was stupid, yes, but also sweet and touching.

“Yeah?” He prompted when Hal didn’t continue his thought.

“Well the four suits were missing.” Snake felt dread sink low in his stomach. This didn’t bode well. “Also, about the elevator I checked out- it was really strange. It was like someone was intentionally holding it.”

“When you were riding it, did the weight limit warning go off?”

“That’s another thing the bothered me about it,” Hal sounded contemplative and Snake’s brain was clicking the pieces together very quickly. “The warning went off but I know I couldn’t be over the limit.”

Snake was doing the math in his head. If this elevator had around a 600 pound weight capacity...

“How much do you weigh?” Snake asked. Otacon stammered slightly.

“About 135- but that elevator had a 650 weight capacity!”

Snake did the math in an instant. 140 times 4 was equal to 560 plus Snakes own weight which he knew to be 155 pounds and...

“It would take about 5 people to go over that weight limit.” Snake deadpanned.

Oh no.

Otacon had reached the same conclusion he had- the guys who took the stealth camo units were in the elevator with him. Otacon loudly cried a warning before Snake dropped the call and dropped his stun grenade, shielding his eyes.

Fuck.

In such confined spaces bullets would be useless. Snake watched as the shimmery man-shaped blobs that had been invisible while still started to blur with movement. Snake immediately grabbed the nearest one, still disoriented from the stun grenade, and snapped his neck, pushing his body into his friend who fell. Another guard started firing his FA-MAS and Snake took several rounds in the body suit, wincing internally at the pain. He rushed the man and pushed him off balance, dropping him to the floor where Snake crushed his windpipe and then stepped on his face, twisting it sideways while the other boot held the neck still, killing that man too.

The guy Snake had toppled over was back on his feet and the last guard was now spraying and praying, screaming like a maniac. Snake grabbed the other man, using him as a body shield and wincing when the bullets ripped the man apart- him screaming for his friend to stop but dying before he had been heard.

The FA-MAS clicked uselessly, out of ammo, and Snake didn’t even let him start to reload, grabbing the barrel and smashing it into his face before choking the man out and letting him drop to the floor. Snake stood by the doors and grimaced at his shaky hands- he was getting a bit punchy but who could blame him? It was now going on 18 hours since he had last rested during which time he was constantly under stress doing strenuous work and had so many adrenaline rushes that his body had to be going insane with the hormones. He closed his eyes and inhaled slowly, holding his breath for several seconds before exhaling slowly. It wouldn’t do to loose his head now.

The elevator doors slid open and Snake jogged out into the hallway. He did a quick sweep of the area and found another ration which he choked down despite it being absolutely disgusting. There were also many boxes of ammo laying around which Snake used to fill his ever dwindling supply. The door on the far left held a hallway guarded by cameras which were taken out by a chaff grenade. Snake sprinted forward, able to get through all the hallways and out into the cold winter night. It was pitch black and snowing. A wolf-dog howled in the distance, the sound echoing eerily through the cavernous snowfield, foreboding and haunting and sad all at once.

Snake suppressed a shiver that had nothing to do with the cold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> —:—
> 
> I seriously hate writing the Boss fights sometimes because they’re kinda boring once you start discribing a pattern. They’re fun to play but not so fun to read and write but whatever. Next battle pissed me off too because once you know the trick it’s easy as shit and Otacon is kinda a bitch throughout the whole thing.
> 
> Guess who is gonna totally tone his begging and shit way the fuck down so that Snake doesn’t actually fucking punch him? Me! But seriously, Hal is a total baby in the next battle and literally Wolf does not give a shit about him. She is a grade A _bitch_.


	14. PART THIRTEEN: SNIPER WOLF

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which Inky wishes Otacon would just shut the fuck up and let Snake do his job. Anyway, I’m really getting close to finishing this up and I might be able to complete this before February unless school gets in my way. 
> 
> WARNING: in this chapter Snake does preform a mercy killing in front of Otacon who is really upset about it so...yeah. If that upsets you then skip over that part, it’s made pretty obvious when it’s going to happen.
> 
> —:—

The snowfield was pitch black, the Alaskan night and snow reducing visibility to almost zero. Snake crept forward, squinting into the night.

Wolf had to be lurking nearby. This place was perfect sniper territory.

Snake heard the sound of a sniper rifle and felt the impact of the round in his body armor- the bullet ripping through the thick padding and drawing blood somewhere in the vicinity of his heart. Without the Kevlar to slow the bullet down, it surely would have gone right through Snake’s chest, puncturing his heart and probably killing him from blood loss.

Snake regained his footing and darted right towards a sheltered alcove, groaning with the burning pain of it all and taking cover. His Codec rang.

“Snake!!” Otacon’s voice was laced with fear. Could he feel that Snake was in pain? “Are you okay!?”

“Otacon,” Snake grit his teeth and waited for his adrenaline to kick in and dull the pain. “Were there any other stealth prototypes?”

Snake hoped to god the answer was no. If Wolf had one of those, in this visibility, it would basically be impossible to see her.

“No, there were only five.”

“So this isn’t stealth camouflage, shes hiding somewhere.”

“What are you talking about?” Otacon sounded panicked, scared and confused.

“Someone is aiming at me!” Snake snapped, the pain making him pissy. “In the middle of this goddamn blizzard!”

“It’s her!” Otacon’s voice was equal parts horror and denial- unable to reconcile the side of Sniper Wolf that he had seen with the one who was hell bent on murdering Snake.

“Wolf? Sniper Wolf?” Snake clarified.

“It’s her!” Awe and...joy? Was Otacon fucking _happy_ that it was Sniper Wolf? “It’s defiantly her!”

“Otacon,” Snake growled, his tone dangerously close to being enraged. “You sounds like you’re happy.”

“No!” Too fast, too high pitched. Denial. “I’m not!”

“Then what is it?”

“Snake...” Otacon’s voice was tight. Was he going to fucking cry? “Please don’t kill her.”

Snake glanced over his shoulder in the direction he had heard the rifle. He couldn’t see anything. “Are you fucking insane!?”

“ _Please_. She’s a good person! You’d know that if you talked to her!”

Snake pinched the bridge of his nose. Fucking Christ almighty. “Listen to me kid, she’s a merciless killer.”

There was a crackle and someone overrode Otacon’s connection, tapping in. “I can see you perfectly from here,” Wolf crooned, her Kurdish accent thick. She laughed. “I told you...I’d never quit the hunt. Now you’re _mine_.”

“Wolf- no! You can’t!” Otacon pleaded, voice thick with emotion.

“Don’t get between a Wolf and her pray!” she snapped. Snake’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

Stay the fuck away from him.

“You’re pretty good if you can hit me in this storm,” Snake sneered, distracting Wolf.

“You see? Women naturally make better soldiers.”

Snake politely disagreed. No one gender was more adept at fighting than the other- they just had different strengths. Women were better at espionage and long distance killing; scouting and intelligence. Men had the advantage in hand to hand and physical combat, their larger stature and muscle mass making them conventionally stronger. That being said, neither category was “better” than the other and the strengths and weaknesses could easily be combined or swapped. Men could be great spies and women could kick ass in hand to hand- the potential of the individual was determined in how they trained and their personality, not their gender. 

“Wolf don’t do this!” Otacon was begging now and Snake hated hearing the desperation in his voice. This poor kid had Stockholm Syndrome _bad_ and seeing Wolf for what she truly was for the first time was tearing the kid apart. Being forced to choose between the only person who was “friendly” during his captivity and the man who he shared a empathetic bond with- his _soulmate_ \- was deeply distressing and Snake just wanted to remove him for the situation.

“Snake...” Wolf whispered like one might speak to a lover, completely ignoring Otacon. “I’m near. Can’t you sense me near you?”

“It’s a mistake for a sniper to reveal her location.”

“Is that right?” Wolf cooed. “Well I’m going to send you a love letter my dear. Do you know what that is? It’s a bullet from my gun straight to your heart.”

“Please!!” Snake was positive Hal was crying, “Wolf!...Snake!! No!” Otacon’s desperate pleas enraged Snake. This _bitch_ was making _his_ soulmate cry, and she was going to fucking _pay_.

He blinked in surprise. Apparently the instinctual, animalistic force inside of David that he had dubbed “The Snake” had become _extremely_ protective of a certain scrawny scientist. Snake had never in his life felt such a powerful urge to protect someone other than himself and it felt terrifying and exhilarating all at once.

“Quiet!” Wolf snarled, murderous. “Don’t get in our way!”

“And don’t you fucking talk to him like that!” Snake hissed, teeth clenched in rage and pain. “I’m going to pay you back for Meryl, for _everything_.”

“You men are so weak,” she sneered. “You can never finish what you started...”

Snake terminated the call, pissed. He was _not_ going to let this bitch get a single fucking hit on him. In fact- he wasn’t even going to move from this spot.

Snake crept out just enough so he could get a bearing on her. She was to the north and Snake launched one of the Stinger’s he had found at her. She was looking through her scope and the missile hit the snow to her left, exploding and making her cry out in surprise and pain.

Snake tracked her movement to the right and fired another one, the explosion knocking her off her feet. Snake fired again while she was down and it exploded by her face, undoubtably burning her.

Snake would feel bad if she hadn’t pissed him off. Wolf had no problem shooting up an innocent teenager and throwing him to Ocelot for horrendous torture so Snake had no problem with fighting dirty.

He was out of Stingers but he had twenty Nikita rockets and he was going to utilize every one of them to their utmost potential. Wolf scampered forward, taking cover behind a tree and trying to get a shot on him but Snake was too well covered. He fired the remote controlled missile and guided it up the hill and over to the left to send it careening into her exposed chest unnoticed. Served her right for leaving her breasts exposed during battle. She moved and Snake reloaded.

It was literal child’s play. This woman had obviously expected a sniper fight, not a long range ballistic battle. Snake smirked, his angered animalistic persona amused. The Nikita’s were slow but effective and it only took three before he got her down, watching her crawl across the snow and leaving a red trail behind her.

She’s a fucking goner.

Her rifle slid out of her hands, skidding across the hard packed snow and she stopped moving, rolling onto her back and breathing laboriously. Snake moved across the snowfield towards her, taking in her fair hair and bloody white coat.

Snake knelt beside her, giving her a last chance to speak her mind before she was gone from this world.

“I’ve...” blood was dribbling out of her mouth, “waited for this moment. I am a sniper, waiting is my job. Never moving a muscle... _concentrating_...”

She trailed off, coughing up blood in a spray that further stained her coat. Ragged breaths filled the icy air, her eyes fluttering closed. “I am lung-shot...there’s nothing you can do. Please,” her blue eyes locked onto his face, “just finish me quick.”

Snake didn’t move. She wasn’t finished yet. Wolf murmured on.

“I’m a Kurd. I’ve always dreamed of a peaceful place like this. I was born on a battlefield... raised on a battlefield... gunfire, sirens, and screams- they were my lullabies. Hunted like dogs day after day, driven from our ragged shelters, that was my life.” Her eyes drifted up to watch the snow, the flakes resting in her golden eyelashes. “Each morning I’d wake up and find more of my family or friends dead beside me. I’d stare at the morning sun and pray to make it through the day. The governments of the world turned a blind eye to our misery, but then- _he_ appeared. My hero, Saladin. He took me away from all of that.”

Snake had remained silent at her side, just listening until he heard the name Saladin and perked up. “Saladin? You mean Big Boss?”

“I became a sniper,” she continued, ignoring his interruption. “Hidden. Watching everything through a rifle’s scope. Now I could see war, not from the inside, but from the outside as an observer. I watched the brutality, the _stupidity_ of mankind through the scope of my rifle. I joined this group of revolutionaries to take my revenge of the world but...” Wolf was breathing heavily now, gasping for breath, “I have shamed myself and my people. I am no longer the wolf I was born to be. In the name of vengeance I've sold my body and my soul. Now, I am nothing more than a dog.”

Snake gazed down at her, callously indifferent. He had heard countless stories like hers and although they were sad and disgusting no amount of past sorrows could absolve one of their sins. The only way to atone was through action. “Wolves are noble animals,” he said, contemplative. “They’re not like dogs, they have no master. In Yupik, the word for wolf is Kegluneq and the Aleuts revere them as honorable cousins.” Snake fell silent and thought about her, thought about her actions. They were merciless and barbaric yes but also wild and free. Snake could almost respect that. Almost. “They call mercenaries like us ‘Dogs of War’ and it’s true. We’re all for sale at some price or another but you’re different... untamed... you are no dog. You’re a wolf.”

She was gazing at his face now, expression unguarded. “Who are you? Are you Saladin?”

Snake winced and avoided the question. He really didn’t want to talk about his father. “Is Meryl still alive?”

“She... she was never my real target. I don’t kill for sport.”

Good. Snake reached for his handgun. “Rest easy,” he murmured, getting ready to end her suffering. “You’ll die as the proud wolf you are.”

Her breathing was frantic. “I finally understand. I wasn’t waiting to kill people, I was waiting for someone to kill me. A man like you...you’re a hero. Please...set me free.”

Snake rose and took the safety off of his gun, pointing it at her head. Her eyes fluttered closed and Snake was just about to pull the trigger when frantic footsteps crunched out across the snow. Snake felt emotions creep up on him, anger and sadness and confusion lapping at his consciousness like waves on a beach. A broken voice floated through the night air, it’s owner unseen.

“Why...?” Otacon dropped to his knees by her rifle, the camo flickering off and tears staining his face. He was so torn- he wanted to be friends with her, to find some solace from his captivity in her and had built her up as a misunderstood but caring woman only to have that illusion shattered. Sniper Wolf was wild, she was a animal at heart like Snake but of a different breed. She was a loner by nature, shying away from companionship and as such she would always be perceived as cruel to those with kind hearts like Hal’s. Wolf glanced over towards Hal, her eyes landing on her gun.

“My gun,” she held out her hand, “give it to me.” Otacon rose to his feet and scooped the thing up, his hands unsure on how to handle it as he held it at arms length, afraid it would bite him. “She is part of me,” Wolf whispered as he brought it to her. She held the gun close, like a mother might hold her baby, “Everyone’s here now...” Her eyes fell on Snake.

“Okay hero, set me free.”

Snake nodded and looked at Hal meaningfully. ‘Turn away,’ he thought. ‘You don’t want to see this.’

Hal bit his lip and turned around slowly, his hands covering his ears like it would block the noise. Snake heard him whisper something that might have been a goodbye before he readied his Socom and fired once.

The bullet went right between her closed eyes; a nice, clean kill. Well, clean in so much as it killed her instantly. The wound itself was a mess of brain and blood and bone, staining the snow red. Hal had flinched violently at the gunshot, shaking like a leaf and Snake knew that he couldn’t handle looking at this, not in this state. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the handkerchief, unfolding the stained square of fabric and gently covering her face with it, hiding the graphic evidence as best he could.

Snake holstered his gun and gently, so gently, he rested a hand on Otacon’s shoulder. The scientist flinched wildly and his hands came away from his ears, his eyes fluttering open. “It’s over,” Snake said, his voice low and soothing. “She’s covered, you can look now.”

Hal turned slowly and glanced over her bloodstained body, his eyes glancing up to where her face was covered by a bloody square of fabric. He was trying valiantly not to cry and Snake gently curled one arm around his shoulders, giving him a comforting squeeze. He may have hated this bitch more than anything but Hal was upset and Snake wanted to comfort him. Tears were falling freely down Hal’s face, his emotions fluctuating from grief at Wolf’s death to anger at how she had attacked Snake causing her own death to relief that Snake was okay back to anger that Snake had killed her- it gave Snake a headache but from what he could tell Hal was finding comfort in him standing there, him leaning against Snake’s body and shaking like crazy.

Snake gave him a few more moments to compose himself and when Otacon’s emotions had calmed down to a manageable point again Snake broke the silence. “I’m going to the underground base. We’re out of time.”

Hal wiped at his eyes beneath his glasses. “I know.”

Snake turned Hal towards him so they were face to face, his hand resting on his bony shoulders firmly. “You’ll have to protect yourself now. Don’t. Trust. Anyone.”

Hal looked up, his silver eyes shimmery and wet but no longer actively crying. “Yeah,” he rasped.

“If I can’t stop Metal Gear, this place will be bombed to all hell.” Otacon looked away, biting his lip. “We might not meet again.”

Hal nearly crumpled to the ground, only held steady by Snake’s hands and instead slumped against him, his hand coming up to brush thin fingers over the bloody hole in Snake’s body armor where Wolf had tried to pierce his heart and failed. Snake folded his hands around him and just let him stand still for a moment. If this was what Hal needed to get him through the upcoming trials then goddamnit but Snake was going to give it to him- to hell with Campbell and his satellite imaging. It was probably too dark in this valley for them to see anything and the tree cover and snow also were against them. Snake sighed deeply, resting his head on top of the nerd’s dark curls and just breathing. Hal seemed content to just stand there indefinitely but time was ticking and there was work to be done.

Gently Snake pressed a chaste kiss to Hal’s forehead and let him go, taking two steps back. Otacon’s eyes widened at the kiss before he blushed violently and ducked his head. “I’ll keep my Codec,” Hal murmured. “I want to keep helping.”

Snake never once took his eyes off of the scientist. “You can leave anytime you know. Get a head start...” the odds were against him. If Snake was going to die here, he didn’t want Hal to die with him.

Hal stared down at Wolf’s body and Snake slowly started to walk away. He could feel Hal’s emotions bubbling up, reaching a breaking point. “Snake!!” He cried out into the night. Snake kept walking. “What was she fighting for!? What am I fighting for!? What are _you_ fighting for!?”

Snake sighed and looked over his shoulder. “If we make it through this alive, I’ll tell you.”

Snake didn’t look back again and he pressed the card key against the reader, ducking inside the building and tossing a chaff grenade. The cameras fell dead and Snake slipped past the boxes, wishing he could just get this over with. A staircase loomed before him, dark and ominous and Snake cracked his knuckles.

Whatever lay ahead, he was gonna be ready.


	15. PART FOURTEEN: VULCAN RAVEN

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo! This chapter is just...not my favorite. I’ve always thought that the Vulcan Raven fight(s) were the most boring out of all of them and the Codec babble was just a slog to get through but it’s done and now we can move on to some more fun bits!
> 
> ATTENTION: I have been going back through the earlier chapters and been tweaking little things here and there- adding some lines that I had meant to add but just got left out due to how fast these are written, correcting some typos, fixing continuity errors- so if you’re looking for a few more scraps here and there you can reread some earlier chapters and see what’s new!
> 
> Without further ado, enjoy~
> 
> —:—

Snake descended the steep staircase, feeling the air get progressively hotter around him. After how cold Snake had been the last few hours, it was both a welcome and uncomfortable change- his body having grown accustomed to the cold.

The door swished open and a blast of oppressive heat rushed over Snake, the chamber within holding huge vats of molten metal, the whole room glowing like a lava lamp. There was a single guard patrolling the catwalks and Snake hid behind a stack of crates, waiting for his opportunity. The guard walked up the right hand side, crossed in front of the boxes, went down the left hand side, and then repeated the cycle. Snake crept behind him as he walked the left catwalk, coming to the end and wincing at the narrow plank he was expected to cross to get to the next catwalk.

Snake pressed his body against the wall and shuffled across, ducking past some hanging machinery and stepped out onto the next platform with a small sigh of relief. If he had lost his footing and fallen, he would be dead in an instant and molten steel was not the kindest way to go.

Snake crept down the staircase, avoiding the guard underneath him, and sprinted across the steel platforms, noting the wire-framed elevator but continuing down to slip past the huge door and into the next room.

It was dim and quiet, no cameras, no guards, nothing. Snake crept forward, there was a huge elevator in the center- the kind that was used to move massive parts of machinery and metal plating around- and Snake side-eyed it. After the last elevator incident, he wasn’t too keen on riding an even bigger one so close to where Rex was supposed to be stored. He checked all around the elevator, finding a few stun grenades tucked into a crate and some Nikita missiles but not much else.

Guess he had no choice but to take the fucking elevator.

Snake gingerly approached the control panel and activated the lift, watching the gate side up and the floor slowly descend. He gripped his gun, suspicious and on edge. Too much had gone wrong.

“There he is!” A voice rang out from the entrance and Snake snapped his head towards the sound. Several sets of footsteps stampeded towards the elevators and three guards vaulted over the safety railings, free falling down onto the slowly moving platform. Snake went on the defensive.

“Damn!” He grumbled, drawing his gun and flicking the safety off. Immediately, the guards started firing at him and Snake dodged right, throwing a stun grenade and waiting for the customary flash bang before returning fire.

He downed one guard, a headshot nice and easy, before rushing the second and knocking him on his ass, kicking his gun away. The third guard kicked Snake in the back and he whirled around, teeth clenched, to punch him right in the face. While that guard was reeling, Snake turned to the one who was righting himself and trying to snatch his gun back. Snake grabbed him in a choke hold and snapped his neck, dropping the man to the ground and pointing his Socom at his friend.

Three shots to the throat, chest, and stomach did the man in and Snake stood in the center, tense. He could feel exhaustion creeping into his consciousness and made a mental note to ask Naomi if her little nano machines could pump up his histamine output to keep him going. The last thing he needed now was to start making dumb sleepy mistakes.

Even if it was going on 26 hours since his last decent REM sleep cycle.

The elevator jolted to a stop and the Soliton went offline. Fucking great. Snake listened carefully and did a preliminary scan of the area- no noticeable guard presence yet but he could see at least one camera to his right. He tossed out a Chaff and sprinted right into the next room, stopping and listening carefully for any cameras.

None.

Snake pulled his thermals on briefly and made note of where the Claymores were planted, giving them a wide berth and taking the next service elevator down.

This shaft was much much longer than the first and Snake bit his lip, antsy. There was another noise joining in over the sound of the elevator- cawing. Snake listened closer and realized that they were ravens, lots of them, and that they were close.

And if there were ravens...

Snake’s Codec rang and he answered, his eyes watching the shadows for movement. Miller’s frequency.

“Snake, I’ve got something to tell you about Naomi Hunter.”

“What about her?”

“Is this conversation secure?”

Snake narrowed his eyes. He didn’t like the sound of that. He turned the Codec so that the frequency was closed and no one else could join. Whether they were actually listening still...

”Don’t worry, the monitor’s off.”

“Okay.”

“So what’s up?” Snake cut right to the chase. He didn’t have enough time for this shit.

“I was in the FBI too you know...“ Miller began and Snake furrowed his brows. That didn’t sound right but...

“I didn’t know that but what’s your point?”

“Dr. Hunter’s story about her background- about her grandfather being an assistant secretary to Hoover in the FBI...” Miller trailed off and Snake prompted him to keep going. “And then going undercover to investigate the Mafia in New York?”

“Yeah, what about it?” Snake snapped, irritated. If he had something he wanted to say, he should just fucking say it instead of beating around the damn bush about it.

“It was all a big lie.”

Snake narrowed his eyes. “What did you say?”

“It was really bothering me. _Why_ would she lie about it? She might be a spy.”

Hmm. It wasn’t outside the realm of possibility and yet... “Do you have any more proof than this?”

“Cmon! Even a high school student could see past it! The head of the FBI at that time, Edgar Hoover, was a well known racist. Didn’t Naomi say that her father was Japanese?”

Snake hadn’t really been paying attention. He had mostly been focusing on trying to push through the lingering pain in his body after Ocelot’s torture. “Yeah...”

“Well back then there wasn’t a single Asian investigator. Also, in the 1950s the undercover Mafia sting operations hadn’t even started yet. They first started in 1960 in Chicago, not New York.”

Snake had been educated in American history of course but he'd always hated it. Every single event mentioned in the many textbooks he read always was a lie covered with prettier lies to hide the truth- that from the first time a European set foot on American soil the country had been a corrupt cess pool of lies and murder and war. Every known “fact” could hardly be called that when one dug a little deeper and even then, the lies never ended. So no, Snake didn’t pretend to be an expert in American history but he also wasn’t ignorant. Sure he wasn’t rock solid on every date of every event but he knew the important things- namely to never take any historical event at face value.

Miller took his extended silence as an answer. “You’d better look into it. The chief and the president mysteriously dying and that Ninja... too many strange things are happening.”

“And you’re saying that Naomi might be behind them,” Snake concluded.

“I don’t know. Either that or she’s working with the terrorists. If I find out anything I’ll call, in the meantime- be careful.”

Miller hung up and Snake mulled over his words. The inconsistencies in Naomi’s backstory were worrisome but so were some of Miller’s actions. The Master was notoriously paranoid about everything yes and the way he reacted to Naomi’s lies about her grandfather was in line with that, but Snake couldn’t get over the fact that Miller decided to tell him via Codec. It was pretty well known that the government monitored and recorded all mission Codec calls and with that being the case, the Miller Snake remembered from his FOXHOUND days would _never_ share such volatile information over such heavily monitored lines of communication. This whole situation was beyond fishy and Snake didn’t like it.

It was always bad news when your support team had secrets and ulterior motives and the last thing Snake needed now was to get fucked over on that end as well.

The ravens were now perching on the elevator and glaring at Snake with their beady black eyes while the air temperature dropped steadily. Snake saw his breath puffing out in front of him and after such a hot room, the cold was extra chilling.

This whole situation was unnerving. 

The elevator jolted to a halt and Snake carefully called Campbell.

“Colonel, where’s Naomi?” Snake hissed, wasting no time on pleasantries. Before Campbell could reply though, Naomi patched herself through on the colonel’s frequency.

“I’m right here Snake, what is it?”

Shit. “Oh uh...I was just wondering if you could do something about this drowsiness- like bump up my histamine production or something.”

“Oh, well- I’m not sure but I’ll see what I can do.”

Campbell finally spoke up. “Snake, by now those terrorists would have finished their launch preparations-“

“-you think I don’t fucking know that!?” Snake snapped, angry. Goddamn, these assholes had no problem chewing his ear off every twelve seconds but any time Snake actually needed to talk to them about something important they never wanted to listen. It was _maddening_.

“Then stop wasting time! Metal Gear’s base is right up ahead.”

“Snake,” Naomi’s voice cut through the tension, “it’s over 30 below outside...”

Snake said nothing. If Naomi was trying to change the subject she was failing miserably. A tense couple seconds of silence followed before Campbell was back.

“Snake stop lollygagging around and get to Metal Gear’s base! There’s no time!”

Snake terminated the call faster than he had ever done so in the past. He was so _pissed_ right now. With Naomi’s lying and Campbell’s withholding of information and incessant rushing and Miller’s out of character behavior Snake was finding that his “support” team wasn’t really all that interested in supporting him. Hell, the only person on the Discovery who wasn’t acting like a psycho was that sweet Asian girl Mei Ling and Snake had barely talked to her this whole mission.

Snake pinched his nose and took a few deep breaths. He needed to stay calm. Deep down he knew that his irritability was mostly due to pain and exhaustion- his body was bruised and bloody and his nerves were shot- but he couldn’t give in now. Not when he was this fucking close.

Snake stepped off the elevator platform and rummaged through the nearby crates, finding some C4 and Socom bullets along with another ration- a “chicken tortilla”- that Snake choked down.

It was an effort not to immediately throw it back up. It was easily one of the most disgusting things Snake had ever tasted and he had eaten some absolutely vile things. Snake lit a cigarette to get the taste out of his mouth and the nausea passed. Snake felt some relief after he finished his smoke. Either Naomi had done what he’d asked with her nano machine voodoo bullshit or the food was giving his body some energy, or the nicotine was helping his mood- maybe it was all three- but when Snake pressed his keycard against the bay doors leading outside his emotions had calmed down. He felt...better.

Fortified.

A blast of arctic air hit Snake in the face- the coldest yet- and a flurry of ravens descended upon him, cawing loudly. Snake shielded his face from their wings, squinting through his arms at the massive figure in the distance.

“Welcome Kosack!” A booming voice echoed around the area. “This is the end of the road for you- right, my friends?” The ravens had calmed down but they cawed loudly at the man’s question. Snake studied the dark skinned man before him. Vulcan Raven was a huge- his stature made even bigger by the oversized, multi-barreled canon strapped to his body. “Listen, they agree.”

Raven’s tone shifted. “How dare you kill my friends? Ravens aren’t scavengers like most people think. They’re simply returning to the natural world that which is no longer needed. Sometimes, they even attack wounded foxes.”

Snake rolled his eyes. He hadn’t intentionally killed any of Raven’s precious birds but whatever. “You were the one in the M1 tank? Must have been a tight fit for a big boy like you.” Snake let himself mock the man just a little. He was just so over the top- on the same level as Mantis and Ocelot- that Snake wanted to laugh. Why? Why were all these members of FOXHOUND so ridiculous? It hadn’t been like this when Snake was part of them so what happened.

‘Liquid Snake took over is what happened,’ his mind supplied.

The big man laughed, deep and hearty. “But that was no true battle-“ he jumped down from atop the large shipping crate he had been standing on. “The ravens and I were just testing to see what kind of man you were.” The kind who killed ravens apparently, if this guy was to be believed. “The judgement has been decided! The ravens say you are a true warrior.”

A bright light flashed through the area not unlike a stun grenade and Snake was momentarily blinded. He felt a bird land on his shoulder to peck at his head and when he went to shoo it away he found he couldn’t move. What the fuck?

“The raven has put the mark of death upon you. Blood from the east flows within your veins. Ah...your ancestors too were raised on the barren plains of Mongolia. Inuit and Japanese are cousins to each other- we share many ancestors you and I.”

Snake snorted and the raven flew away. “I don’t see any crows on my family tree.”

“You jest but indeed ravens and snakes are not the best of friends. Nevertheless, you will make a worthy advisory!”

The weird flash bomb halo that had been surrounding Snake’s vision finally disappeared. Raven kept talking, bragging about his prowess in the Eskimo-Indian olympics, comparing the ear pull event to their upcoming battle. That they both would test their spiritual as well as physical strength.

“Rejoice Snake!” Raven cried. “Ours will be a glorious battle!”

“This isn’t glorious!” Snake protested. “It’s just plain killing! Violence isn’t a sport.”

“Well, we will see if there is iron in your words...”

Raven lifted his giant machine gun and Snake ran left, pulling out his claymores. He did not want to go up against this fucker head to head, his best bet was to plant claymores around and lure the man over so he would trip them. Snake set them up at the intersections of two paths in a nice diamond like pattern, one in each cardinal direction, before he hunkered down and waited.

Raven was slow as hell but slowly, so slowly, he inched his way over. Snake readied his Nikita and took aim. He would corral Raven into the claymores with the RCMs and slowly whittle away at his health.

The first Claymore went off and Raven grunted in pain, dashing right and getting another one for his troubles. While the man was trying to right himself, Snake fired off the first rocket, guiding it into the man’s hip where it exploded.

A man as huge and tough as Raven wouldn’t be felled by that alone though so Snake set up a few more claymores and waited. Raven was more cautious now, walking even slower, but such a heavy man triggered the mines even when he was walking as softly as he could. It was kind of satisfying to use this guys supposed “advantages” against him.

Snake fired the next Nikita missile and steered it through the many shipping crates dotted around the yard, making sure Raven saw it coming. The giant man smirked and stepped back to shoot it down.

The first in a chain of explosions went off. Raven was knocked off his feet by the first one, landing backwards on the second, before rolling into a third. 

Snake wanted to laugh but he contained himself. Raven wouldn’t be getting up after that.

Snake made his way over, picking up the leftover unused claymores in the way. Raven crawled over to the nearest crate and leaned against it.

“It’s just as the boss said,” the native was breathing heavily, his tattooed skin shredded and burned from the shrapnel and explosions. “It is my existence which is no longer needed in this world.”

A raven flew over and landed on his body. “But my body will not remain in this place. My spirit and my flesh will become one with the ravens. In that way I will return to Mother Earth who bore me.”

Snake watched quietly. There was nothing he could say to this man. Any words of comfort would not be appreciated as Vulcan Raven had already figured it out. Death was no big deal to those with a well organized mind.

“Snake! I will be watching you, understand!?” Raven was trying to pull something out of his pocket and Snake moved forward to help. He handed over another security card. “Here, take this. It’ll open that door.”

Snake squinted at the card in his hand. “Why?”

“You are a snake which was not created by nature. You and the Boss are of another world- a world that I do not wish to know. Go and do battle with him, I will be watching from above.”

Raven looked to the sky and sighed. “First, Ill give you a hint. The man who you saw die right before your eyes. That was it the DARPA chief. It was Decoy Octopus, a member of FOXHOUND. He was a master of disguise, he copied his subjects down to the blood. So he drained the chiefs blood and took it into himself. But he wasn’t able to deceive the Angel of Death.”

What the actual fuck? None of this made any fucking sense and even so...that was just disgusting. “What the hell do you mean ‘the Angel of Death?’”

“That is the end of my hint. You must solve the rest of the riddle by yourself.” The surrounding ravens took to flight and started to cluster around the dying man, picking at his flesh. “Snake, in the natural world there is no such thing as boundless slaughter, there’s always an end to it, but you are different.”

Snake turned his back to the scene. He didn’t want to watch this. “What do you mean?”

“The path you walk on has no end. Each step you take is paved with the corpses of your enemies, their souls will haunt you forever. You shall have no peace.”

Snake sighed. He already knew this- was already haunted by the countless people he’s killed- but he also couldn’t help but feel bitter. He hadn’t chosen this life- it was thrust upon him from the moment he was born and at this point...

Could he even turn back? Try to amend the wrongs he’d already committed?

Snake started to walk away. He didn’t have time for this. 

“Hear me Snake!” Vulcan Raven called over the cacophony of the birds, his body being torn to pieces and devoured alive. “My spirit will be watching you!”

Suddenly, the birds stopped cawing and all took flight at once. Snake chanced a glance behind him and immediately looked away.

Raven was dead, his remains left to feed the birds again come sunrise. Miller called Snake on his Codec and the soldier picked up.

“Snake, it’s me. It’s about Naomi. Turn your monitor off!”

It was too late, Campbell had heard. “What about Naomi?”

Miller cursed and Snake cut in. “Colonel, is Naomi there?”

“No, she’s away. She’s taking a short nap.” Must be fucking nice. “What is this about Naomi?”

“Mmm, okay,” Miller had collected himself. “Maybe we’d better let the colonel hear this too.”

“Yeah,” Snake honestly didn’t even fucking care at this point. “Go on Master.”

“Well basically Dr. Naomi Hunter isn’t Dr. Naomi Hunter at all.”

“What!?” The Colonel was aghast.

“I thought the story of her background was a little fishy,” Miller continued, “so I looked into it. There is an _actual_ Naomi Hunter or... I should say there _was_ one. But it’s not the woman we know. The real Naomi Hunter diapered somewhere in the Middle East, our Naomi must have somehow obtained her identification papers.”

“So then who is she really?” Campbell asked, impatient.

“She must be some kind of...spy. Maybe she’s been sent to sabotage this operation.”

“Are you saying she’s with the terrorists!?”

“I don’t want to believe it either...” Snake chimed in, “but all the evidence points to that being the case.”

“So you think she had some part in the uprising?” Campbell asked.

“Or,” Miller interjected, “she working with some different group altogether. Either way- place her under arrest!”

“What!?” The Colonel was surprised at how quickly this was going and so was Snake. Sure Miller was a man of action but this...it was too rash even for him.

“She’s betrayed us,” Master insisted. “She needs to be arrayed and interrogated to find out who she’s with.”

“If she’s one of their spies then we’re in big trouble!”

Snake narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”

“Oh nothing...”

Like hell that was nothing. “Have you let her in on some kind of vital information?” Miller pressed. Campbell didn’t respond. “Does this have anything to do with the mysterious deaths of the DARPA chief and the ArmsTech President!?”

“I-I have no idea.”

Liar. “Anyway, we cannot allow her to participate any further in this mission,” Miller insisted.

“Wait- Wait a minute!” The Colonel was panicking now. “Without her we can’t complete this mission!”

“I knew it!” Snake snapped, his voice cutting through the conversation like a knife, “you’re hiding something!”

“Just give me some time,” Campbell pleaded. “I’ll try to get it out of her.”

Snake scoffed. Yeah right, and he’s gonna just walk into Rex’s hanger and convince the terrorists to stop with a fucking heartfelt speech.

“Hurry then, we’ve got to figure out who she is and what she’s doing here.”

Way to state the obvious Master. Campbell was begging for more time and Snake was just- he was just so goddamn tired of this. He was tired of constantly being betrayed during Every. Single. Mission.

“I don’t have any time left for you,” he glowered, terminating the call before anyone could say anything else.

Snake rested his forehead against the nearest shipping crate, his breath crystallizing against the cold metal. What a fucking mess. He hadn’t asked to be here and he certainly didn’t want to be doing this right now.

Snake just wanted to go _home_.


	16. PART FIFTEEN: THE MAINTENANCE BASE

Snake took a deep breath and continued on, pressing Raven’s keycard against the hanger door and slipping inside. It was too damn cold to linger outside for long.

The hallway was dark and Snake crept forward. There was a tell tale click that preceded the activation of a trap door and Snake jumped out of the way. After that, he stuck close to the walls to avoid any other traps in the floor.

There were dozens of cameras and turret guns protecting the door Snake had to go through and he took it as a sign that he was getting close. A chaff grenade detonated and filled the air with particles, confusing the cameras and allowing Snake to sprint out and across the catwalk to the high security door on the other side. It slid open in one smooth motion and Snake ran down the narrow hallway towards the big open area just beyond.

The first sight of the new Metal Gear took Snake’s breath away. He had encountered the weapon before but the past iterations had always been about the size of a tank- maybe a little taller- nothing like what was standing before Snake right now. The thing was massive, easily the size of four tanks stacked on top of one another, and the size of those guns...

This thing wasn’t just a weapon- it was a walking nuclear apocalypse just waiting to be set loose on the world.

Snake shook his head, he couldn’t get distracted right now. Taking stock of his surroundings, he noticed that there was a suspicious lack of guards and very few cameras around. He proceeded with caution, creeping along the right hand catwalk before coming to a stop in front of a ladder. His Codec rang and Snake answered it.

“Snake, it’s me!” Mercifully, it wasn’t Campbell but Otacon.

“What’s wrong? Did you find a good place to hide?” Snake’s voice was lower than usual and unusually gentle, the customary growl absent.

“Yeah, thanks to the stealth gear,” Otacon could be heard typing and Snake wondered if he had hunkered down with a laptop of something and was taping into the camera feed. “Looks like they’ve finished getting Metal Gear ready. Where are you now?”

“Right in front of Metal Gear but it’s strange, there’s nobody here- no guards, nobody patrolling, it’s too quiet.”

“Maybe because they’re all ready. I overheard that they have even input the PAL codes.” Otacon didn’t sound completely convinced himself and Snake didn’t blame him. The terrorists had to know that he’d escaped by now and that his end goal was to stop Metal Gear so why wasn’t this place armed to the teeth?

“What should I do?” At this point Snake trusted Hal more than he trusted Campbell or Miller or Naomi. Besides, who better to ask about this walking death trap than the man who built it.

“Well short of blowing Rex up all we can do is use the override system President Baker told you about.”

“But I’ve only got one of the three keys,” Snake argued. “And besides that, like Ocelot said, there’s some trick to using the keys.”

“Leave it to me,” Otacon said confidently.

“You got some kind of plan?”

“Well I’m in the computer room right now,” Snake heard some more typing. “I’m trying to access Baker’s private files.”

“But aren’t they protected with passwords and stuff?”

“Of course but there are ways...”

Snake smirked slightly, “Are you a hacker?”

“Yup! That pretty much describes me.”

Confidence was cute on him, Snake decided. The way he could hear Otacon’s smirk and his ease with using technology was pretty fucking attractive if Snake was being perfectly honest. But, then again the nerd was always pretty attractive so perhaps Snake wasn’t the best judge. “Does it look like you can get in?”

“I don’t know yet but I’ll do my best.”

“I’m counting on you,” Snake murmured, his voice low and gentle. Otacon made a small noise not unlike a flustered squeak before the call was terminated, flustered by Snake’s trust.

Snake climbed up the ladder and walked around the struts surrounding the weapon. There were no guards so he lingered a bit longer than normal, studying the weapon and looking for possible weak points. He picked up another ration by a worker’s station, perhaps meant to be a lunch, and tucked it away. Otacon called again and Snake answered. If anyone else had tried to call him so frequently, he would have started to ignore them but Hal was...special.

Snake would gladly listen to him talk all damn day.

“Snake, it’s me again.”

Snake leaned against the railing by the ladder and looked up. “How’s it going?”

“Hmmm...not bad. I just got past his third security level. He was a pretty careful guy.”

“Think you’ll break in soon?”

“I’ve never met a system I couldn’t bust into,” Otacon declared and Snake smiled slightly.

“Ok, keep trying.”

Snake hung up and started to climb the ladder. In the distance, Snake could see a single guard patrolling outside of the control tower where he was headed. Shouldn’t be too big a problem. What would be an issue, however, were the two figures he could see moving around inside. At this distance he couldn’t properly identify them but he’d be willing to bet money that one of them was Liquid Snake.

Snake crept over to his right and climbed the short ladder to the platform by Rex’s head. Heights didn’t really bother Snake but even so he knew that a fall from here would kill him. Otacon called again and Snake answered quickly.

“Snake!” Otacon was excited, “I did it!”

“You got past security?” That was fast. Snake was legitimately impressed.

“Bingo!”

“Great work,” Snake praised and even from this distance Snake could feel Otacon’s pleasure at his words. “What’d you find?”

“I accessed the confidential Metal Gear file.”

“And what about the PAL override system that Baker talked about?”

“I...” embarrassment. “I haven’t found that yet but- I found something else!”

“What?”

“The secret behind the new nuclear weapon. Just as I suspected, the nuclear warhead is designed to be fired from the rail gun like a projectile. It doesn’t use fuel so it isn’t considered a missile- that way it can get around all sorts of international treaties.”

Snake frowned. “Pretty sneaky.”

“Yes, but effective. And that’s not even the scariest thing about this weapon-“ 

“I can’t wait to hear this,” Snake muttered sarcastically. Otacon hummed in agreement.

“It’s a stealth weapon!” he exclaimed, equal parts horrified and awed.

Oh no. “You mean it won’t show up on radar?”

“Yeah, truth is they’ve been working on a stealth missile since the late 70s.”

Snake remembered snippets of intel he had overheard here and there as a kid- whispers about the work of a scientist called Strangelove and the prodigal advancements she made in the fields of AI, rockets, and weapons development before her mysterious disappearance set everything back by years if not decades. “Why couldn’t they develop one until just now?”

“Because they weren’t able to figure out how to fire a missile without a rocket propulsion system. It would always be picked up by enemy satellites.”

“Makes sense,” Snake grumbled.

“But unlike a regular missile, the rail gun doesn’t burn any propellent so it can’t be detected by any current ballistic missile detection systems.”

“An invisible nuclear warhead...” Snake grimaced. This fucking Metal Gear just kept getting more and more fucked up. It wouldn’t be enough to just stop the terrorists, this thing needed to be destroyed.

“Totally impossible to intercept!” Hal sounded equally horrified. “And on top of that, it’s got a surface piercing warhead designed to penetrate hardened underground bases.”

Snake shuddered. He remembered the Scud and HARM missiles used by both the Iraqi and United States militaries to bomb the crap out of each other. The way they would shake the earth and pierce straight through anything in their paths- rock, concrete, steel- nothing was safe. If you were in a bunker when one of those fuckers was dropped you were dead. Worse still were the civilian casualties- the entire towns Snake had marched through with his troop and the piles of dead men, women, and children murdered by stray missiles from both sides. Snake swallowed down the rising bile and shook his head. He wasn’t there anymore- he was on Shadow Moses island in Alaska and he had a job to do.

“We learned that lesson in the Gulf War,” Snake managed to get out, his voice a harsh rasp.

“This thing could mean the end of the world!” Hal was horrified, disgusted by what he had helped create.

“It’s the ultimate weapon,” Snake agreed. “And from a political point of view it avoids the problem of nuclear reduction and nuclear inspections.” A disturbing thought slithered into Snake’s mind and he grit his teeth. “Colonel, is this true? Are you listening?”

There was a moment of silence before there was a loud crackle and Campbell patched himself into Otacon’s frequency. “I’m listening...” he sounded resigned. Snake felt a spike of fear from Otacon, sheer terror rushing through him now that he was finally hearing the voice of the nebulous “they” Snake had warned him of. This man, who could very easily have Hal murdered, had been effortlessly listening in to their conversation and even though Hal had been told that the Codec was not secure it was one thing to know and another thing entirely to experience it. Hal was in danger from Snake’s boss and and there was almost nothing they could do to prevent it.

“If word of this got out,” Snake started, his voice barbed and accusatory, “it could delay the signing of the Start 3 Treaty and cause a huge international incident.”

“Yeah, it would be nasty. The United States would be denounced by the U.N. it could even bring the President down.” Hal added. As a weapons engineer he undoubtably was familiar with the politics surrounding the manufacture of weapons and had started to connect the dots along with Snake.

“Did you know this Colonel?” Snake hissed. Otacon waited on bated breath, Snake could feel his anticipation from wherever the nerd had holed up. It had to be nearby.

“I’m sorry...” Campbell sighed. Otacon gasped, almost inaudible over the Codec but Snake heard it loud and clear.

“You’ve changed Colonel,” Snake was disgusted by the man. How could he have known this and kept it secret? It kind of seemed like information Snake needed to know unless...

Jesus Christ, the government wasn’t planning on Snake coming back from this alive. The smart thing for the higher ups would be to bomb the crap out of Shadow Moses but with the Colonel’s niece being held captive Campbell had decided that if anyone could get Meryl out and destroy Metal Gear before the US decided to drop the bombs it would be the “legendary” Solid Snake. He had elected to not tell Snake because if Snake had known, he would have told the Colonel to go fuck himself.

“I won’t make any excuses...” Campbell at least sounded remorseful for what he’d done but it was too little too late.

“Snake, listen to me,” Otacon was back. “This new nuclear weapon- it’s never actually been tested, only simulated.”

“You mean they ran a computer model?”

“Yeah, that’s why they were conducting this exercise. They needed to get actual experimental data to back up the simulation.”

Snake nodded, he remembered coming to that same conclusion a while back during a previous conversation with Hal. “And what were the results of the exercise?”

“It’s looks like it went better than they’d hoped for but-“ Otacon gave a frustrated little huff, “I can’t find the data anywhere on this network! You’d think that data as important as that would be carefully recorded.”

Snake remembered the innocuous, unlabeled, CD housed in a cheap jewel case that had been given to him by a dying old man. The launch data. “It was. President Baker gave me an optical disk with all the test data.”

“What!? Do you still have it!?” Campbell sounded frantically hungry and Snake snorted.

“No, Ocelot took it from me when he was torturing me.” Snake grumbled darkly.

Hal coughed slightly, awkward in the face of the tension between Snake and his superior. “The terrorists have replaced the dummy warhead with a real one. Once they input the detonation codes they should be ready to launch!”

“So you think they can do it?” Snake asked, trusting Otacon’s opinion more than anyone else’s at the moment.

“Well, the dummy warhead was designed to be identical to the real thing so I think so.”

“And have you figured out how to override it yet?” Snake was getting impatient. Time was ticking and Campbell’s presence in their conversation was putting him on edge.

Otacon audibly winced. “Not yet, it must be in a separate file. Right now I’m looking through _all_ of Baker’s personal files.”

“We’re counting on you...” Snake tried to impress all his feelings into the words, to let Otacon know just how much he _needed_ him if they were going to get through this alive.

The call dropped and Snake felt mildly sick to his stomach. This situation kept getting more and more fucked up and Snake’s head was spinning. How? How was he going to get everyone out of this alive? They all knew too much- were all huge liabilities. There was no way the American government was going to let them go after this.

Snake climbed back down the tiny ladder and snuck over towards the control room, keeping a weary eye on the guard. He ducked into every crevice and shadowy spot, trying to give Otacon a little more time. Finally, nearly at the stairs leading to the control room Otacon called back and Snake answered faster than he’d ever answered a Codec call before.

“Snake-“

“Did you find it?” Snake interrupted, watching the guard from the shadows and willing him to stay the fuck away.

“No, I haven’t found out about the override system yet but I did find Baker’s ulterior motive.”

“He’s just looking to get rich isn’t he?” Snake asked, confused. He’d thought the old man had made it pretty clear what his goals were in all of this.

“That’s part of it,” Hal agreed, “but ArmsTech is in much worse financial trouble than I’d thought.”

“I know they lost their bid to make the next generation fighter jet. That plus the reduction of SDI spending...”

“It looks like there was even some talk of a hostile takeover!”

“So everything was riding on this project huh?” Snake concluded. 

“And It looks like we were paying a lot of money to the DARPA chief, looks like Baker was a huge proponent of the nuclear deterrent theory,” Otacon sneered.

“I see... so what about the override?”

“Just give me a little bit longer,” Otacon begged and Snake hung up. He would do his best to stall but there was only so much he could fucking do. He hoped to God Hal found the information fast. Time was running out.

Snake crept up the stairs and darted past the door, peaking around the doorframe to watch the occupants inside. It was Liquid and Ocelot.

“Ok, I’ve entered the PAL codes and disengaged the safety devices,” Ocelot grumbled in his crooning voice. “We can launch anytime.”

Liquid was scowling at his phone, his eyes blazing with a barely suppressed fury. “There’s still no response from Washington. Looks like we’ll have to show them that we mean business.”

“Should I set it for Chernotion, Russia?” 

Liquid tossed his blonde hair back, “no, there’s been a change,” his haughty British accent floated through the air. “Our new target is Lopnor, China.”

“Why Boss?” Ocelot sounded confused and irritated.

“I’m sure neither you nor Mr. Gurlukovich would like to see a nuclear bomb dropped on your Motherland, right?” 

“But why? There’s nothing there.” Ocelot reasoned. 

“Wrong,” Liquid turned around and Snake looked at his face. He looked like shit- not only was he bruised to all hell from the helicopter battle but his eyes were red and puffy, like he’d been rubbing at them or crying a lot. He looked close to insanity, his eyes burning with a dangerous, reckless light. He was past being cunning and calculated- he was unhinged, just hellbent on destroying everything in his path. “It’s a nuclear test site. If we nuke a major population center, the game’s over. But a nuclear explosion at a test site can still be concealed from the public. Meanwhile, Washington will be worried about the retaliatory strike from China.”

Snake wasn’t sure Liquid’s plan would work. Sure destroying a nuclear test site would be a blow and show the US the terrorists meant business without completely fucking everything up but if they did that Washington wouldn’t bother trying to negotiate anymore- they’d just nuke Shadow Moses.

“That’ll probably mean top secret meetings between both countries’ leaders,” Ocelot mused.

“Of course, and in the process the President will be forced to divulge the existence of a new and highly destabilizing nuclear weapon to the Chinese. What do you think that’d do to the US’s reputation? Or the president’s?” 

“And with the CTBT, That means that China and India...” Ocelot trailed off, a devilish smirk coming to his face. “...yes, I see.”

“When the other countries hear about this new weapon, they’ll all want to contact us. Washington won’t be very happy when we start selling their own system to the highest bidders. Yes, the president will break. He will give in to our demands...”

“Big Boss’s DNA and one billion dollars,” Ocelot provided with a smirk.

“That money will be used to cure our genome soldiers as well,” Liquid turned his back towards Snake and face Ocelot again. “I’m also including the FoxDie vaccine in our demands.”

Snake perked up at that. FoxDie? What the fuck was that?

“FoxDie...” Ocelot leaned against the desk. “It killed Octopus and the ArmsTech President so it’s true that it kills older people first. Mantis might not have been affected because he wore a mask...”

Liquid hunched in on himself at the mention of Psycho Mantis and he hugged himself his body screaming grief and his eye threatening to tear up. He bit his lip and drowned his pain with rage, his words clipped and raw. “It didn’t infect Wolf either, perhaps due to those tranquilizers she always took.”

“So something to do with the adrenaline level in the blood?” Ocelot conjectured. “Or maybe it’s just because this FoxDie was still experimental and they haven’t worked out all the bugs yet.”

Liquid scowled. “In any case have you heard from your friend Colonel Sergei Gurlukovich at the Spetznaz?”

“He still has doubts about the ability of Metal Gear. He said we can talk after Metal Gear’s text launch is successful.”

“Mmm, he’s a very prudent man.”

“There’s nothing to worry about,” Ocelot soothed, “The Colonel wants Metal Gear and a new nuclear weapon so bad he can taste it. If Russia wants to regain its position as a military superpower, they need to reinforce their nuclear arsenal. They need a nuclear weapon that can’t be intercepted and Metal Gear will allow them to gain first strike capability over the rest of the world.”

“Their regular army is in shambles and they think they can restore their country’s military power with nuclear weapons?” Liquid snapped, disgusted. “Gurlukovich- He’s no warrior, he’s a _politician._ ”

“But he’s the one who gave us the Hind,” Ocelot reminded, “and most of our other heavy firepower.”

“He’s got over a thousand soldiers under his command,” Liquid begrudgingly acknowledged. “If we joined forces we could put up quite a resistance here. Since Mantis-“ Liquid choked back a tiny sob, his composure threatening to shatter, “- _died_ the genome soldier’s brainwashing has started to wear off. I’m worried about the men’s morale. An alliance with the Russians would boost that as well...”

“What are you saying?” Ocelot was side eyeing Liquid like one would a wounded animal and Snake could see why. The man was clearly mentally unstable, having become unhinged with the death of Psycho Mantis and when men were grieving they did rash things.

“We’re not going anywhere,” Liquid declared, face hard. “We’re going to dig in here.”

“We could still escape...” Ocelot offered hesitantly. Liquid scoffed.

“We’ve got the most powerful weapon ever made and we’re about to ally with Gurlukovich’s forces.”

“What are you going to fight the whole world?” Ocelot sneered.

“If that’s what it takes. We have the ability to launch a nuclear warhead at any target on this planet- a nuclear warhead invisible to radar- and on top of that this base is full of spare nuclear warheads. Once we get the DNA and the money the world will be ours!”

“What about your promise to Colonel Gurlukovich?”

Liquid laughed, “I have no interest in the revival of Mother Russia.”

Ocelot’s eyes widened, “you’re not thinking of reviving Big Boss’s dream!?”

“From today,” Liquid was smirking manically now. “Call this place Outer Heaven.”

Snake gasped slightly. Jesus’ blessed ballsack- this asshole was insane and they were so fucking screwed.

“But Boss,” Ocelot started, his accent drawling. “You’re not worried about the PAL being overridden are you? If the code is entered again it’ll be deactivated.”

“No need to worry, the DARPA chief and the ArmsTech President are both dead.”

“Does Snake know how the override system works?” Ocelot asked. Liquid scowled at him.

“You’re the one who interrogated him, don’t you know?”

“He didn’t have any keys on him...”

“Good,” Liquid tossed his hair back over his shoulder. “Then no one can stop Metal Gear now!”

“By the way, what should we do with that woman?” Ocelot crooned, amused. “Want me to kill her?”

“Let her live,” Liquid sneered. “She’s Campbell’s niece and Snake cares for her, we’ll keep her as our ace in the hole.”

Poor Meryl. Snake didn’t like the idea of her being used as a weapon against him but at least the terrorists had latched on to the insane idea that he was harboring a crush on her. If they thought they could manipulate him with that they were sorely mistaken.

If it was between her and Hal, it wouldn’t even be a question. Snake would pick Hal every time in every situation, Campbell be damned.

Snake felt his Codec ring and he answered it.

“Snake, I found Baker’s top secret files!” Otacon was smiling and Snake felt it take the edge of just a tiny bit.

“Great job,” Snake praised and smiled at the resulting pleasure that poured over their empathetic link. So Hal was the kind of person that liked praise and validation huh? Snake could do that.

“How’s it going there?” Otacon asked, concerned.

“They’ve finished inputing the PAL codes. So how do we deactivate them?”

“Okay,” Otacon shifted and got ready to explain. “Y’see the override system that the president was talking about can also be used to input the detonation codes. If you insert the keys when the warhead is active, it’ll deactivate it and if you insert them when it’s inactive, it becomes active and you can only use the keys once.”

“Only once huh? Sounds like a pretty stupid design to me.”

“Yeah,” Hal agreed. “You’d better get started, you don’t have much time.”

“But it takes three keys right?” Snake snapped, “I’ve only got one!”

“Hold on a minute,” Hal soothed. “Y’see that’s the trick. You already have all three keys.”

“What are you talking about?” Snake sighed, irritated.

“The card key is made of a shape memory alloy. It’s a material that changes shape at different temperatures.”

Snake took out the key and glanced at it, the golden yellow shining slightly in the dim light. It looked pretty damn ordinary to Snake. “This card key?” He asked, disbelieving.

“Yes. That key is actually three keys in one.”

Snake glared at the stupid piece of plastic or metal or whatever. “That’s stupid, if the point was to make the key easy to use in the case of emergency activation or deactivation, why give it such a convoluted design?”

Otacon sighed. “I don’t know, I wasn’t the one who designed it. Anyway, can you see the input terminals terminals in the center of the control room?”

Snake glanced over his shoulder again. “Yeah, I see them.”

“Those three laptop terminals are for the emergency input. There should be a symbol on each screen. Each symbol corresponds to a different key configuration. Input the keys in order from left to right.”

Snake looked at the left most console. Yellow, the one he had right now. The center one was blue and the last was red. Room temperature, cold, and hot. “Okay, I got it.”

Otacon started typing something. “Once you input the keys into the module, a hard disk reads the information contained in it. Once it finishes reading the data, the code input process is complete but here’s the thing...” oh boy. “You can only use the key three times- it’s an emergency system it’s only meant to be used _once_.”

Campbell patched himself through. “The world is riding on that key Snake.”

An alarm went off in the night and a bullet was fired, hitting Snake in the forearm. The key flew out of his hand and off the catwalk. “Fuck!” Snake cursed, clutching his arm and sprinting over to watch it fall. “The goddamn key just fell into the drainage ditch!”

“Snake!” Liquid jeered. He was standing haughtily in the doorway. “This is bullet proof glass. I’d like to see you get in here.”

The control room door swished shut and locked into place. Fuck. Snake stared down, desperately trying to see where the little key landed in the dark.

“Snake, you’ve got to go get the card key- it’s the only way!”

Snake hissed at the pain in his arm, starting his descent back to ground level, the alarm blaring loudly into the night. Every fucking guard was gonna come pouring in here and Snake had to find the fucking key in the goddamn freezing drainage ditch. This was so fucking _stupid_ and something about the timing seemed off to Snake. Why was it that Liquid waited until right then to catch him when he had been standing there for ages. He couldn’t have just noticed him right then after their conversation had been over. Did he _want_ Snake to hear him?

Whatever. Snake didn’t have time for this. He had a goddamn key to find.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Words cannot describe how much I _hate_ the card keys in this game. It is just pointless fucking filler and is just dumb dumb dumb! Like- nothing about this design makes sense and I would be tempted to just cut it out of this fucking story all together but it’s such an important plot point that I _can’t_.
> 
> On another less irritating note, we’re finally starting to get to the part of the story where I will be kinda Frankensteining this thing together. Those who know the game know that there are two endings, both of which are simultaneously the “true ending” in the game lore. To counteract this, I will be mashing the two of them together so as not to create any time parodoxs.
> 
> Don’t forget to leave a comment or a kudo before you go, they really help keep me motivated! The next update will be very soon after this one as I just want to get this finished while I still have the inspiration.


	17. PART SIXTEEN: THREE KEYS

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In Which Shit _Really_ Hits The Fucking Fan.
> 
> —:—

Snake took off running towards the ladder, shoving the guard to the floor and descending the struts surrounding Metal Gear Rex as fast as he could. This goddamn key card would be the literal death of him.

The alert went off as soon as he reached the second ring of supports, the single guard having fallen unconscious before backup could be called. Snake kept moving down, the ladder down to the bottom floor being the longest of them all. The grates under Snake’s feet were wobbly and loud and the drainage ditch was filled with disgusting, murky, oily water.

It would be hard to find tha fucking card in that mess. Snake jumped the railing and dropped into the water where he’d thought he’d seen it fall, squatting down and feeling around the bottom. The water was freezing and burned to the touch, either from the cold or the chemicals in it. Snake searched faster.

There. Finally. Snake snapped the card up out of the ditch and climbed out, shaking the polluted water off of his sneaking suit. The key was dirty but otherwise unharmed, the yellow having turned a sort of yellowish green from the cold water.

Snake pressed it between his hands to warm it up.

Once the card was yellow again, Snake climbed back up the ladders to the control room, pissed. This whole thing was so stupid. The door, despite Liquid’s taunts, was not locked and was instead wide open. Snake tossed a chaff inside and watched it detonate before running over to the consoles.

Something still felt fishy about this. If the terrorists didn’t want him to input the keys then why would they leave the door open and unguarded. Snake slid the key into the laptop port and watched the reader accept the data on the card. A mechanical voice rang out in the room.

“PAL code number one: confirmed. Awaiting PAL code number two.”

A core descended into the console and locked in place before the key was ejected and Snake snatched it back into his hands. Next was the low temperature key.

Snake went back down the ladders, back through the hallway, and out into the cold yard where he’d fought Vulcan Raven. As Snake waited for the key to turn blue, he noticed that the birds had come back to eat more of their master’s flesh. Raven was now almost nothing but bones. Snake turned away and stared at the key, watching it turn from yellow to green to blue.

He ran back inside and up the ladders. Jesus this was tedious. Another chaff grenade was tossed into the control room where it detonated allowing Snake to run to the second laptop. He fed the key into the port, glaring at the screen angrily.

“PAL code number two: confirmed.” The second core began its descent, locking into place. “Awaiting PAL code number three.”

Snake took the key and scowled. He didn’t like this- it was too easy. Why weren’t the terrorists trying to stop him? Snake got back down Rex and ran into the cold night, avoiding the minimal guards that were now patrolling the area. The place with the molten metal should be hot enough right? As soon as Snake had entered the room, Miller called.

“Snake, it’s about Naomi Hunter.”

Ugh. “Then you should talk to the colonel,” Snake grumbled, “he’s looking into it.”

“Turn your monitor off,” Miller ordered and Snake narrowed his eyes. It didn’t really matter either way so why was he so insistent?

“Ok it’s off. No one else can hear us,” Snake was sarcastic. Of course they could, they just couldn’t interrupt. “Go ahead.”

“Sorry but I didn’t want the colonel to hear.”

“Okay so what’s up?”

“I got a good friend in the Pentagon, he’s the one who told me about it. It looks like the DIA recently developed a new type of assassination weapon.” Miller paused. “Snake, have you ever heard of something called FoxDie?”

“Hmm, Liquid and the others were talking about it.”

“Yeah. It’s some kind of virus that only targets specific people. I don’t know all the details but...”

Snake felt his stomach drop, pieces starting to rapidly click together in his brain. “What are you trying to say?”

“It’s too similar.”

“What is!?” Snake snapped. Miller usually wasn’t like this- if he had something to say he just said it.

“The cause of death. Didn’t the ArmsTech President and the DARPA chief, I mean Decoy Octopus, die of something that looked like a heart attack? Well apparently FoxDie kills its victims by simulating a heart attack.”

Snake took a second to process this. “...No. You’re telling me that Naomi was behind it?”

“Snake, try to remember. Did Naomi give you some kind of injection?”

“...the nano machines.”

Miller hummed thoughtfully. “She was in the best position to have done it, but I don’t know what her motive was.”

“Does The Colonel know?” Snake’s eyes were narrowed. If Campbell knew about this...

“I don’t know but he still hasn’t questioned her.”

Fine. “Then I’ll ask him myself.” Snake turned the monitor back on so The Colonel could talk again. “Colonel, what’s new with the Naomi situation?”

“I just placed Naomi under arrest,” Campbell declared confidently. “She was sending coded messages towards the Alaskan base. I didn’t want to believe it, but she must be working with the terrorists.”

Something about all this wasn’t adding up- Miller was acting weird and Campbell was a known liar and while Naomi herself was weird Snake wasn’t convinced that she was working with the terrorist, more that she had her own agenda. “Are you sure?”

“I’m afraid so,” Campbell replied. “She’s being interrogated now.”

Snake’s blood ran cold. “What kind of interrogation?”

Even if she was a traitor, Snake wasn’t sure that he wanted her to be _tortured._ “Well, I like to avoid the rough stuff but we don’t even have any sodium pentathol here.”

“Call me if you find out anything,” Snake demanded.

“So it’s true, isn’t it?” Miller asked. “That means the FoxDie vaccine must be around somewhere.”

“Listen, I’ve got bigger things to worry about,” Snake snapped. Yes all this shit with Naomi and FoxDie was concerning but Snake was on a time crunch here to take out Metal Gear, he didn’t have time for this.

“But Snake, you might be infected too ya know!” Miller cried before Snake could hang up.

“All I can do is leave it up to the colonel,” Snake grit out, unhappy. He didn’t exactly trust Campbell right now but he didn’t really have any other options now did he?

Snake hung up and continued on into the steamy room just off of the room full of molten metal where all the steam vents and boilers were. It was nearly unbearable to be in there but Snake endured it, setting the key on top of one of the hot pipes, watching it bleed from blue to green to yellow to orange until it was a violent red. Snake picked it up, ignoring the way it threatened to burn at his fingers and stepped back out into the adjoining room. He received another Codec and and he answered it with a huff, expecting Miller or Campbell again.

“Snake, can you hear me?” Naomi’s British accent cut over the line.

“Naomi, what the hell!?” Snake exclaimed.

“Campbell and the others are busy right now, I’m on a different Codec.”

“Naomi, is what the colonel and the others said true?”

“...yes,” she admitted. “But not everything I said was a lie!”

“Who are you?” Snake demanded. She laughed humorlessly.

“I don’t know myself. I don’t know my real name or even what my parents looked like. I bought all my identification but my reason for getting into genetics was true.”

“Because you wanted to know yourself, right?”

“That’s right I want to know where I came from, m-my age, my race, _anything_. I was found in Rhodesia sometime in the 80s, a dirty little orphan.”

That got Snake’s attention. He’d been to Rhodesia, he and several of his colleagues from FOXHOUND. “Rhodesia? What’s now known as Zimbabwe?”

“Yes Rhodesia was owned by England until 1965 and there were lots of Indian laborers around- that probably where I got my skin color from but I’m not even sure about that.”

Snake sighed. “Naomi, you’re too worried about the past. Isn’t it enough to understand who you are now?”

“Understand who I am now!?” She sounded angry, “why should I!? No one else tries to understand me!” She trailed off, sad. “I was alone for so long...until I met my big brother and _him._ ”

“Your big brother?” Snake asked.

“Yes, Frank Jaeger.”

Snake felt like he had been slapped, “what!?”

“He was a young soldier, when he picked me up near the Zambezi River. I was half dead from starvation and he shared his rations with me. Yes, Frank Jaeger- the man _you_ destroyed- was my brother and my only family.”

“No...Gray Fox...” Snake remembered Frank telling him that he had a sister, never any specifics but during their roof top smokes they had grown close. Snake knew that she was in boarding school and that he’d adopted her during his time in Africa. 

“We survived that hell together, Frank and I. He protected me. He’s my one connection- the only connection I have to my past.”

“And he brought you back to America,” Snake guessed.

“No, I was in Mozambique when _he_ came.”

“Who’s _he_? You mean Big Boss?”

“Yes,” she sounded angry. “He brought us to the ‘Land of Freedom,’ this America. But then he and my brother went back to Africa to continue the war. And that’s when It happened. You killed my benefactor and sent my brother home a cripple. I vowed revenge and joined FOXHOUND. I knew that it was my best chance to meet you and I _prayed_ for the day that I would.”

“So were your prayers answered?” Snake spat. This woman- this _bitch_ \- understood nothing of what went on behind the scenes of FOXHOUND and why Frank actually died, why Big Boss had to die- she was so wrapped up in her own selfish pity party that she couldn’t see the big picture.

“Yes, I waited two long years...”

“To kill me?” Snake mocked. “Is that all you cared about? You didn’t care about _why_ I fought your brother and my father?”

“Yes, that’s right. Two years- you were all I thought about for two long years. Like some kind of twisted obsession.”

Snake sneered. “And do you still hate me?”

Naomi was silent for a long time. “...not exactly. I was partly wrong about you.”

“What about Liquid and the others?” Snake asked, irritated.

“No, I’ll have my revenge on them too,” She said darkly.

“Naomi, you didn’t kill that doctor too did you? The one who used Grey Fox in her genome experiments?”

“Dr. Clark? No, that was my brother. Afterwards I covered it up and helped him hide out.”

“So That Ninja- I mean Grey Fox- He’s come here to kill me?” Snake asked disbelieving. Frank was typically like that and besides...he had asked Snake to kill _him_ years ago.

“I don’t think so,” Naomi said. “I think he just came here to fight you. I wasn’t sure before but now I think I understand. A final battle with you...that’s all he lives for. I’m sure of it.”

“Fox...no...” Snake felt his insides twist up and he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Naomi, tell me something. Did he ever tell you about Dylan?”

“Dylan?” Naomi sounded confused. “Who’s Dylan?”

Snake sighed loudly. It wasn’t his place but Naomi was Frank’s sister... “Dylan was Frank’s soulmate. He found him back when he’d started running missions for Big Boss and FOXHOUND again. He requested leave so he could be with him- bond and all that- and I don’t know who but some higher up either in FOXHOUND or the government sent out an assassin. You see, they can’t have highly trained mercenaries like us having anyone we are more loyal to than them so when they found out one of their top operatives had found his soulmate...they just took him out of the picture. It tore Frank apart. He left FOXHOUND and vowed to get revenge for the man who killed Dylan but when I was sent to fight him he just...he was so dead inside Naomi. He asked me to kill him- reunite him with his love and I did. He died happy...or so I thought until Clark revived him for her genome experiments.” Snake sighed. “Frank was my best friend- my _first_ friend- I didn’t want this for him but...I think he wants to die by my hand.”

Naomi had started crying halfway though and was now sobbing. “That’s...oh Frank...” she sniffled, wiping at her face. “That’s sick, who would even...?”

Snake let her cry until her tears trailed off. Finally, he asked what he’d been wondering about. “Naomi, tell me about FoxDie.”

She sighed, her voice still thick with emotion but no longer crying. “FoxDie is a type of retrovirus that targets and kills only specific people. First it infects the macrophages in the victim’s body. FoxDie contains ‘smart’ enzymes created through protein engineering. They’re programmed to respond to specific genetic patterns in the cells.”

Snake hated listening to science jargon. He was smart but technology and biology were not his strong suits. He was more of a physical-analytical type of smart, not the classic ‘nerd’ smart. “Those enzymes recognize the target’s DNA?”

“Right. They respond by becoming active and using the macrophages they begin creating TNF epsilon.”

Snake understood about every other word in that sentence and he was too tired to try to work it out on his own. “Huh?”

“It’s a type of cytokine, a peptide which causes cells to die. The TNF epsilon is carried along the bloodstream to the heart where they attach to the TNF receptors in the heart cells.”

“And then they cause a heart attack?”

“The heart cells suffer a shock and undergo extreme apoptosis. Then...the victim dies.”

“Apoptosis. You mean the heart cells commit suicide.” Snake sighed. “Naomi...”

“What?” She sounded resigned.

“You must have programmed that thing to kill me too, right?” She said nothing and Snake bit his lip. It figures that just after he had finally found someone besides himself to live for that something like this would happen. “Do I still have time?”

More silence. Snake wrestled down the urge to scream. “Naomi, I can understand you wanting me dead but I Can’t. Go. Yet. I still have a job to do.”

“...listen Snake, I’m not the one who made the decision to use FoxDie.”

“You weren’t?” Snake felt a sinking in his stomach.

“No. You were injected with FoxDie as a part of this operation. I just wanted to let you know that.” She sighed. “No...that’s not the whole truth. The real thing I wanted to tell you was...Snake I...I...”

In the background a man yelled “What are you doing!?” and Naomi gasped. There was a loud sound like she was being hit and she cried out in pain, calling out for Snake before the line when dead. Fuck.

“Snake,” Colonel Campbell was now on the line instead. “I can’t allow Naomi to make any more unauthorized transmissions.”

“What!?” Snake snapped.

“Naomi’s been removed from this operation.”

“What happened to Naomi!?” Snake demanded. “What did she mean when she said FoxDie was part of this operation!? Colonel- let me talk to her!”

“I won’t,” Campbell used his commander voice and Snake glowered. “She’s under arrest.”

“You double crossing son of a bitch!” Snake spat out, livid. If he ever fucking saw Campbell again...

“Snake, there’s no time for that! Right now your job is to stop Metal Gear!” Colonel was yelling now, barking orders like a drill sergeant. “Okay Snake!?” Snake grit his teeth.

“Fuck You,” Snake hissed, terminating the call. He’d stop Metal Gear but not for Campbell or Naomi or the fucking United States. He’d stop it for Hal, he’d destroy the weapon Otacon had built because Hal couldn’t destroy it by himself. 

Snake ran through the hot room into the service elevator back down to where he fought Raven, into the maintenance base, and up the ladders to Metal Gear’s control room. Snake tossed a chaff grenade inside and stomped over to the last laptop, jamming the stupid red key into the slot and watching the core descend.

“PAL code number three: confirmed.” The mechanical voice said. “PAL code entry complete. Detonation code: activated.”

Fuck! Snake stepped back from the console. Stupid stupid stupid- he should have gone with his gut on this! It was a fucking trap- the terrorists were bluffing, they didn’t have the DARPA chief’s code so they tricked Snake into activating the nuke for them. Snake wanted to smack his head against something. Why? Why didn’t he just blow the goddamn Metal Gear up to begin with.

Oh yeah, because Campbell was probably told something like “try to salvage to fucking Metal Gear while taking out the terrorists as it represented a significant investment on the tax payers behalf.” The American government at its finest.

Snake sighed and Miller called.

“Thank you Snake,” Liquid drawled. “Now the detonation code is completed. Nothing can stop Metal Gear now.”

Snake pinched the bridge of his nose. Well that explained a fucking lot. The Miller imposter continued on, “you found the key and even activated the warhead for us too. I really express my gratitude. Sorry to have involved you in that silly shape memory alloy business, we had accidentally killed the DARPA chief before we could get his code and we were all starting to get a little worried. Without the threat of a nuclear strike, our demands would never be met. So we had to find some other way and that’s when we decided you might be useful Snake.”

Snake wanted to fucking just lay down and go to sleep right now. He was so fucking _tired_ of all this. Liquid continued. “We thought we might get the information from you Snake, so I had Decoy Octopus disguise himself as the DARPA chief. Unfortunately, Octopus didn’t survive the encounter...thanks to FoxDie.”

“So you had this planned from the beginning, just to have me input the detonation code?” Snake was livid. 

“In any case, the launch preparations are complete. Once the world glimpses the power of this weapon the White House will have no choice but to surrender the FoxDie vaccine to me. Their ace in the hole is useless now. The pentagon’s plan to use you was already successful in the torture room.” The man laughed, cruel and mocking. “Snake, you’re the only one who doesn’t know. Poor fool. I’ll tell you everything you want to know- if you come to where I am that is.”

“Where are you?” Snake asked, resigned.

“Very close by,” Liquid hissed. Campbell cut in on their frequency.

“Snake! That’s not Master Miller!”

No shit! In other news water is wet and fire is hot- more thrilling discoveries by Ace Detective Campbell at eleven!

“Campbell, you’re too late!” The Liquid Miller imposter gloated.

“Master Miller’s body was just discovered at his home. He’s been dead for at least three days.” Snake sighed. Poor Miller. “I didn’t know because my Codec link with Master was cut off but Mei Ling said his transmission signal was coming from inside the base. Snake, you’ve been talking to-“

“-Me, dear brother,” Liquid interjected. Smug. Snake could wait until he was that son of a bitch- he was going to punch him right in his stupid fucking face. “You’ve served your purpose- you may die now!”

The door to the control room slid shut and poison gas filled the room Snake pulled out his gas mask and fastened it on securely. Then, the called Otacon.

He was the only person left that Snake could even trust and even then, they barely knew each other.

“Otacon! Have you been listening?”

“Yes,” Hal swallowed thickly, scared and shaken. “Snake, that’s bullet proof glass. You won’t be able to shatter it with an ordinary weapon.”

“Can you open the security lock here?” Snake asked. Otacon started typing.

“I’ll try! Just hold on a minute.” Snake let Otacon work, breathing through his gas mask slowly, trying to get his bearings. “I hacked into security- Snake I’m opening the door!”

The door swished open and the gas poured out of the room. Snake ran out and just saw a man in his peripherals run towards Metal Gear. Snake yanked off his gas mask and pursued.

Liquid was standing in front of Rex’s control pod, smirking. “Snake, did you like my sunglasses?” Snake pulled his Socom out and pointed it right at Liquid, the safety off and his hands rock steady. He was pissed. “You’d point a weapon at your own brother?”

Snake scoffed. He had already killed their father- twice- why not at fratricide to to his list of sins? He was going to hell anyway. “Why did you disguise yourself as Master?”

“So I could manipulate you more easily!” Liquid laughed. Snake narrowed his eyes. They really looked identical except...they also looked nothing alike. Liquid was blonde where he was brown, tan where he was pale, arrogant where he was subdued. Their bodies might be the same but in every way it counted they were polar opposites. “And you preformed quite well I must say. Although the boys at the Pentagon are probably saying the same thing. Following orders blindly with no questions asked- you’ve lost your warrior’s pride and become nothing more than a pawn Snake!”

Snake glared at the British bastard. He asked questions, yes, but it wasn’t like he had any choice to disobey orders. If he started to retaliate they would just kill him or worse- they’d kill Hal. Being a pawn was better than being dead, if only marginally. 

Liquid continued on, monologging like the egotistical asshole he was. “Stopping the nuclear launch, rescuing hostages, it was all just a diversion. The Pentagon only needed you to come into direct contact with us. That’s what killed the ArmsTech President and Decoy Octopus.”

“FoxDie,” Snake hissed.

“That’s right. You were sent here to kill us so they could retrieve Metal Gear undamaged, along with the bodies of the genome soldiers. From the beginning the Pentagon was just using you as a vector to spread FoxDie.”

“So Naomi was working for the Pentagon?”

“They thought she was,” Liquid prattled on, wrapped up in his little speech. “But it seems that Dr. Naomi Hunter couldn’t be controlled so easily. We’ve got a spy working in the Pentagon, he reported that Dr. Hunter altered FoxDie’s program just before the operation but no one knows how or why.”

Snake scoffed, “they probably arrested her so they could find out the answer to that.”

“No doubt,” Liquid agreed, surprised. It was like he hadn’t realized that Snake wasn’t an idiot and that he had started to figure all this shit out ages before he had started monologuing the whole fucking story like he was just some blind little idiot. He wasn’t- he had been a soldier for over 18 years, he knew how to fucking think like one. “But I had no idea she was motivated by such petty revenge. We still don’t know what changes she made to FoxDie’s program.” A dramatic sigh, “oh well, it doesn’t matter. I’ve already added the FoxDie vaccine to my list of White House demands.”

Snake raised an eyebrow. “What makes you think there’s a vaccine?”

“There must be!” Liquid cried. Just because you wanted something to exist didn’t automatically mean it really existed. “But that woman is the only one who really knows. Anyway, it might prove to be unnecessary.”

“Why’s that?” Snake asked, weary. Liquid wasn’t making much sense anymore and Snake was getting the distinct impression that his behavior earlier when talking about Mantis- the barely controlled bouts of intense grief- we not an act and that he had really been deeply affected by the psychic’s death.

“You were successful in coming into contact with all of us so we’ve all been exposed to the virus. It’s true that the ArmsTech President and Decoy Octopus were killed by FoxDie but Ocelot, Myself, and you- the carrier- were apparently unaffected.”

“A bug in the virus’s coding?” Snake didn’t think so. Naomi had said that she’s get her revenge on Liquid and the others and Snake doubted she would make such a big mistake in something she was so fixated on.

“Hmm, could be. In any case if it doesn’t kill you I’m not too worried about it. After all, our genetic code is identical.”

“So it’s true, you and I are...”

“Yes, twins.” Liquid gave a cruel smile. “But we’re not ordinary twins, we’re twins linked by cursed genes. Les enfants terribles!” Liquid’s face twisted into an expression of rage as he pointed a finger at Snake. “You’re fine! You’ve got all the old man’s dominate genes while I got the flawed recessive genes! Everything was done so that you would be the greatest of his children- the only reason I exist is so that they could create you.”

Snake narrowed his eyes. That...didn’t make any sense. Snake didn’t claim to be an expert in biology- far from it- Be he was positive that wasn’t how genetics or cloning worked at all. “You think I was the favorite?”

“That’s right! I’m just the leftovers of what they used to make you! Can you understand what it’s like to know that you’re garbage since the day you were born!?”

Snake snorted. Yeah, he understood that feeling pretty fucking well. No family, no friends, just being passed around from place to place and tested on like a rat. They didn’t treat him like a human much less a child.

“But I’m the one father chose!” Liquid smiled smugly.

“So that’s why you’re so obsessed with Big Boss,” Snake stared at Liquid like he was insane. “Some warped kind of love.”

“Love!?” Liquid spat- actually spat- on the grates by his feet. “It’s _hate_! He always told me I was inferior and now I’ll have my revenge! You should understand me brother- you killed our father with your own hands! You stole my chance for revenge!”

Snake sighed deeply. Why did Liquid have to pull him into it? It wasn’t like Big Boss loved him either. He sent him off to fight his private military force expecting him to fail and die as some form of sick joke and then did it again. Big Boss was just a cruel man and yet Liquid was letting his hatred for the asshole turn him into an even crueler man. 

“Now I’ll finish the work Father began. I will surpass him- I will _destroy_ him!”

Snake stared into the man’s wild blue eyes, exactly like his own. He pitied him. Snake felt sorry that all Liquid could feel was rage and hatred- that revenge was the only thing that kept him going. How could someone live like that? It wouldn’t help anything. “You’re just like Naomi...”

“Well I’m not like you!” He snapped back. “Unlike you I’m proud of the destiny that is encoded into my very genes!”

Faster than Snake could react, Liquid dove into Metal Gear’s cock pit, closing the hatch slowly. The Socom bullet pinged uselessly off the metal a second too late and Snake tisked.

“Snake!” Liquid called over the loudspeaker. “Your blood will the the first to be spilt by this glorious new weapon! Consider it an honor- a gift from your brother! Now I’ll show you the power of the weapon that’ll lead us in the 21st century!”

Snake watched the Metal Gear start to move, the parts clinking into place and the mechanisms whirring to life. The catwalk rattled ominously and Snake darted to the right, vaulting over the railing and into the next level before the first fell. He continued down until he reached the floor, gazing up what felt like forever at the Metal Gear. He had no idea of how to even begin to fight something this fucking big...

It was time to call Otacon. They had a Metal Gear to destroy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoooo boy, that chapter was a doozy. So much happened that I literally just wrote it and I can’t remember it all so hopefully you guys can understand it!
> 
> Don’t forget to leave a comment and kudo before you go, they really do help and because this chapter was literally written at four in the morning I apologize for the probably grevious errors I’ve made.


	18. PART SEVENTEEN: METAL GEAR REX

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this one is so short but there was only one place to end it that made sense so...
> 
> WARNING: Someone does get crushed to death which will be described in some detail so do with that what you will.
> 
> —:—

Snake dialed Otacon’s number and pulled out his Stinger missiles. The second it connected, Snake started talking.

“Alright, where do I need to hit to maximize damage to this thing!?”

“I uh...the joints! Aim at the shoulder joints!”

“Alright, thanks!” Snake moved to hang up but Hal stopped him.

“Wait!! Just- be careful, okay?”

“...I’ll try.”

The Metal Gear was now fully upright and Snake ended the call, aiming the Stinger at the right shoulder. The missile flew true and exploded, a few bolts and wires falling to the floor. Liquid fired the laser and Snake rolled out of the way, barely dodging the burning plasma.

Snake aimed at the left shoulder but it was off, hitting the armored body instead. Fuck. Liquid fired off the machine gun, peppering Snake’s vicinity with bullets. Two pinged off the the metal floor and imbedded themselves in Snake’s body armor. Once again, the padded Kevlar had saved his life. Snake strafed right and hit Metal Gear’s armored shoulder again.

With a loud puff, several heat seeking rockets followed him over and Snake had to zig-zag in an attempt to get them off his tail. One by one they expended their rocket propellent and fell to the floor, exploding and making the metal grates shake. Snake aimed a Singer at the right shoulder again, barely having time to note that it had hit its mark before Liquid was back to the machine gun. Snake ran left, the bullets stopped firing, but immediately afterwards the right rocket launcher was firing its payload at Snake who ran a chain of figure eights to avoid being blown up by the missiles.

He aimed the Stinger and prayed it found its mark. The rocket went wide, hitting the armored body of Rex instead. The laser was now charged back up and it came within an inch of Snake’s face- the heat intense.

Snake took a huge breath and rolled away back to the other side. Machine gun bullets pinged against the ground, mere inches behind and Snake fired off another missile at the right shoulder joint. More mini rockets were fired from the right launcher and Snake ran wide, bringing them out and then muddling his path to more quickly wear the rockets down.

Thankfully, Liquid had decided to keep his fucking mouth shut.

The barrage of attacks were endless- when one weapon ran out of ammo or power- there was another to take its place. The rockets were the most annoying but the machine gun was the most difficult to avoid. Snake barely managed to fire a single rocket in the seconds between attacks, much less fucking aim accurately. Two Stingers went wide of their target before the third finally hit just right of the left shoulder joint. The whole thing was shuddering ominously, the upper body being weakened and the lower body threatening to buckle under the unsupported weight.

Another Stinger missile exploded right over the cockpit, cracking the glass and stunning Liquid. In the brief seconds Liquid was incapacitated, Snake fired off two Stingers one right after the other into Rex’s right arm by the heavy rail gun. A huge explosion rattled the Metal Gear, bits of metal and screws falling off and the whole structure falling to its knees. Black smoke billows from the arm joint and Liquid started rebooting the system, the mechanisms sparking and jerking wildly.

Was it down?

“Nice try Snake!” Liquid shouted over the intercom as the Metal Gear righted itself. “It’ll take more than that to take this out! Now _die_!!”

A metallic blur rushed towards the Metal Gear, jumping forward with his arms thrown behind him for balance allowing him to land gracefully underneath the mech’s right leg. Gray Fox lifted his hands and caught the massive foot, refusing to let it go down and leaving it unbalanced and vulnerable. Snake rolled out of the way, watching wide eyed at the scene playing out before him.

“Grey Fox!” He cried. The Ninja laughed.

“A name from long ago...” he said nostalgically. “It sounds better than Deepthroat.” Frank glanced over to Snake, and he could hear the smirk in his voice. “You look terrible Snake, you haven’t aged well.”

Snake bit back a snarky reply as Liquid pulled the leg up and tried to slam it back down on Gray Fox. 

“I’ll send you back to Hell!!”

Fox darted out of the way just in time, skidding to a halt just in front of the Metal Gear. The leg slammed down on the metal grates and Liquid tisked in annoyance. The Metal Gear lumbered forward with surprising speed and Grey Fox back flipped away, firing a plasma canon at the weakened right shoulder before landing in a graceful crouch. There was another explosion and Liquid did damage control. Frank darted behind some crates to share Snake’s cover.

“Fox why!?” Snake asked, confused. “What do you want from me?”

“I am a prisoner of death,” Frank rasped, his voice badly damaged. The face plate slid up and Grey Fox’s pleading silver eyes shone out from a scared and disturbing face. “Only you can free me...”

Snake winced. “Fox, stay out of this. What about Naomi? She’s hell bent on taking revenge for you.”

“Naomi...” Fox choked on the words, his face twisting in agony. Whether it was emotional or physical Snake couldn’t tell.

“You’re the only one who can stop her,” Snake pleaded. 

“No I-“ Fox was actually choking now, a hand clutching his throat. “I can’t.”

“Why!?”

Frank closed his eyes, a tear slipping down past the remains of his face. “Because I’m the one who killed her parents. I was young then and couldn’t bring myself to kill her too. I felt so bad that I decided to take her with me.” His eyes snapped open, full of pain and sorrow. “I raised her like she was my own blood to soothe my guilty conscious. Even now, she thinks of me as her own brother.”

Snake watched his friend and mentor suffer sadly. “Fox...”

“From the outside, we might have seemed like a happy brother and sister but _every time_ I looked at her I saw her parents’ eyes staring at me.” Frank tried to cough but it only came out a broken wheeze. “Tell her for me- tell her that I was the one who did it.”

Liquid had finished rebooting the systems and had moved into prime position. “There you are!” he shouted triumphantly and started systematically destroying all the cover in the area. It was only a matter of time until he blew up the boxes they were behind.

“We’re just about out of time,” Frank smiled humorlessly. “Here’s a final present from Deepthroat- I’ll stop it from moving!”

Before Snake could even process Frank’s words he had dashed off like a bullet. Snake called after him but it was too late, he could only watch.

Grey Fox was too fast to track normally, all Snake could see was a blur running towards Metal Gear then a flash of light and a huge spurt of blood. Frank landed on the second story catwalk and turned just in time to be pinned to the wall, staining the concrete and steel red.

“In the Middle East, we don’t hunt foxes, we hunt jackles.” Liquid increased the pressure out upon Frank’s sparking suit. “We don’t use foxhounds we use royal harriers.”

The Metal Gear slowed in its movement, meeting resistance from the man it was crushing. Snake watched, horrified, unable to do anything to help.

“How strong is that exoskeleton of yours?” Liquid asked, faux-friendly. “Snake, are you just going to sit by and watch him _die?_ ”

Snake saw what Frank had been doing before Liquid did. There was a building indigo light coming from the end of Fox’s plasma gun, charging up for a powerful close range blast.

One right after the other, the plasma cannon fired over and over right at Metal Gear’s shoulder joint. Each blast was perfectly aimed. “A cornered fox,” Frank choked out, “is more dangerous than a jackal!”

The ray dome that was mounted on Metal Gear’s shoulder finally exploded, sending its fiery remains down to the drainage ditch. Liquid let go of Fox and opened the cockpit, exposing himself while Frank fell to the ground.

“Impressive! You are indeed worthy of the code name ‘Fox’!” Liquid pulled at the joysticks, a primal rage crossing over his features. “But now you’re finished!!”

Fox turned his head weakly and made eye contact with Snake. “Now!” He cried, using the last of his strength. “Fire the Stinger!”

Liquid scoffed. “Can you really shoot? You’d kill him too!”

Snake winced. He didn’t want to do this- he didn’t want to be the one to kill Frank but...that’s what he wanted, to die by the hand of a friend. Snake readied the Stinger and aimed it right between the two of them but he couldn’t pull the trigger. His brain was screaming at him to just _fire_ but he couldn’t. Gray Fox was rasping out his final words, begging Snake to do it but...

He couldn’t. Why couldn’t he shoot!?

Liquid pushed Fox to the floor and screamed “Die!” before crushing him under his foot. Fox made eye contact with Snake.

“Snake,” he was barely intelligible. “We’re not tools of the government or anyone else. Fight was the only thing- the _only thing_ I was good at. But...at least I always fought for what I believed in-“ Liquid put more pressure on Fox’s body, sparks flying everywhere and the sickening souls of bones cracking filling the air. Frank gasped in pain. “Snake...farewell...”

Fox’s eyes rolled back into his head and he fell limp, Liquid lifted Rex’s foot before slamming it down on Frank’s dying body, crushing it with an explosion of sparks and blood. Snake winced and looked away, glaring at Liquid’s twisted grin.

The Metal Gear roared- actually honest to god roared- and Liquid laughed. “Foolish man! He prayed for death and it found him! You see? You can’t protect _anyone_ \- not even yourself!”

Snake’s face twisted with rage. He may not have been able to protect Grey Fox or Meryl and he sure as fuck wasn’t very good at protecting himself but goddamn it he was _not_ gonna let Hal Emmerich die on this godforsaken island!

“Die!” Liquid screamed and Snake aimed the Stinger right at Metal Gear’s cockpit, pulling the trigger.

Rex turned suddenly, taking the rocket to its left shoulder instead. Snake snarled and tried again. And again. And again.

Most of the rockets didn’t hit anywhere close to his target but Snake didn’t care- he just wanted to destroy that fucking death mobile. He wanted it to be a smoking pile of twisted metal before he left this fucking island. Liquid was firing missile after missile and Snake instinctually dodged all of them- avoiding the machine gun and laser and everything else so he could focus on throwing Stingers at his brother.

Explosions were shaking the base to its foundations, each indistinguishable from the others. Was that the Metal Gear or the Stingers or something else entirely? Perhaps it was all of them all at once. Snake couldn’t stop moving for fear of instant death. More and more rockets flew out of the Metal Gear and Snake wondered just how many the ducking thing had.

Hal would probably know.

There was a brief second of silence and Snake aimed the Stinger, watching the launching mechanism lock on to Liquid in the cockpit. Snake fired and the missile sailed right inside, exploding violently.

Liquid screamed, jerking the controls towards the area the Stinger has been launched from.

“Snake!” He screamed, his throat raw from the smoke and his body burned and bleeding from the explosion. “I’ll crush you into dust!”

The Metal Gear valiantly tried to move forward towards Snake but the knees were buckling and the systems were all failing. Liquid tried to fire the laser, then the machine gun, then the rocket launcher- he even tried the non functioning rail gun- everything was no longer working and the control sticks were jammed. Explosions and fired erupted all over the Metal Gear, the flames and shockwaves rattling the machine down to its very bolts. The noise was deafening and as the Metal Gear finally collapsed, there was a final huge explosion that knocked Snake off his feet, sending him flying back against the wall where he smacked his head painfully. 

The world was spinning, both too bright and too dark all at once. Snake fought valiantly to stay conscious, tried to get up and keep going but it was too much. He was exhausted and hungry and injured and now with a massive head injury, Snake’s body had finally committed mutiny and decided it was done.

The world started to fade to black, and Snake heard Liquid screaming over the flames before his head slumped forward.

Snake forced his eyes open blearily hearing footsteps. They closed.

He opened them again and saw a world bathed in orange and the battered body of his brother walking towards him. Snake tried to get up but he couldn’t. They closed.

Liquid was now standing over Snake and Snake tried to get up only to finally slip into blackness permanently.

Solid Snake was unconscious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the cliffhanger! I promise the next chapter will be up in a few hours. I am going to finish this fucking story before a go to bed or so help me god.
> 
> Next up is the Liquid Snake Boss fight and then it’s the grand finale! Lots of good stuff coming up in the next 12 hours so check back frequently for the updates!


	19. PART EIGHTEEN: SOLID AND LIQUID

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jesus this is a long one. Just a warning, the fist fight with Liquid is pretty violent so prepare yourselves for that!
> 
> One more chapter to go! I am going to burn the midnight oil to finish this if it kills me!
> 
> —:—

Snake regained consciousness slowly, his eyes opening into a blurry world of bright crimson. A figure was standing over him and Snake blinked to dispel the blurriness.

“Sleeping late as usual eh Snake?” Liquid drawled and Snake stifled a groan.

“Liquid, you’re still alive.”

“I won’t die as long as you still live!” Liquid snapped back. Snake closed his eyes, trying to clear his head.

“Too bad,” he grumbled. “Looks like your revolution was a failure.”

Liquid scoffed and turned his back to Snake, walking out of sight. “Just because you’ve destroyed Metal Gear doesn’t mean that _I’m_ done fighting.”

Snake moved his head to follow Liquid’s movement, his body unable to get up yet. “What are you after?”

“A world where warriors like us are honored as we once were- as we should be!”

Snake snorted. “That was Big Boss’s fantasy.”

“It was his dying wish!” Liquid cried, stoutly refusing to look at Snake. “When he was young during the Cold War the world _needed_ men like us. We were valued then- desired- but things are different now. With all the liars and hypocrites running the world, war isn’t what it used to be.” Liquid sounded wistful and Snake wanted to vomit. Liquid’s tone suddenly changed. “We’re loosing our place in a world that no longer needs us! A world that now spurns our very existence. You should know that as well as I do.”

Snake did. He had long since realized that whatever purpose they had groomed him for as a child and young adult had since rendered his services obsolete. After his service in the Gulf War and FOXHOUND, when they no longer had anything for him to do they tried to court martial him- throw him in prison for some bullshit charges that he didn’t even do. Insubordination...war crimes... they had tried to charge David “Smith” with everything under the sun but Snake managed to wiggle out of it by going into early retirement. It was only when the government had a job for him to do that he was physically pulled out of retirement. Yeah, he knew what Liquid was talking about but he, unlike his brother, didn’t want to be glorified.

He wanted to be left alone.

“After I launch this weapon and get our billion dollars, we’ll be able to bring chaos and honor back to this world gone soft. Conflict will breed conflict, new hatreds will arise! Then, we’ll steadily expand our sphere of influence.”

Snake shook his head. Liquid was talking as if the world was no longer fundamentally flawed which was far from the truth. He wanted to create even more chaos than there already was? Fucking insane. “But as long as there are people, there will always be War.”

“But the problem is balance. Father knew what type of a balance was best.”

Snake scowled. Big Boss was insane. “Is that the only reason?”

“Isn’t it reason enough,” Liquid turned around, his blue eyes glinting in the red dangerously, “for warriors such as us?”

Snake glared back with his own blue eyes, exactly the same as Liquid’s. “I don’t want that kind of world,” Snake grit out.

“Ha!” Liquid tilted his head back and pointed at Snake. “You lie! So why are you here then? Why do you continue to follow your orders while your superiors betray you? Why did you come here?”

Because Snake had no choice? Because they had literally abducted him and forced him to be here? Because his best shot at getting out of here alive with his soulmate was to do what he was told until he opportune moment arose for them to slip away?

Liquid took his silence as an answer. “I’ll tell you then,” he started, striding over to Snake. “You _enjoy_ all the killing, that’s why!”

Snake was taken aback. That was so far from the truth he didn’t even think it could have crossed anyone’s mind. Sure in the moment he could turn off the human part of himself and find a sort of rush in the thrill of battle but afterwards, in those dark Alaskan nights, he would hear the dying screams of every man he’d ever killed. He could see their faces when he closed his eyes. The dead haunted him endlessly and Snake couldn’t do anything to atone for the sins he had be forced to commit. What could one do that would undo a lifetime of murder? 

“What!?” He barked.

“Are you denying it!?” Liquid asked incredulously. “Haven’t you already killed most of my comrades?”

Snake stared to say something then bit it back. He didn’t owe this asshole an excuse. Liquid laughed.

“I watched your face when you did it,” he hissed. “It was filled with the joy of battle.”

“You’re wrong.”

“There’s a killer inside you...” Liquid taunted. “You don’t have to deny it. We were created to be that way!”

“Created?” Snake’s jaw was clenched so hard that it hurt. He did have to deny it- there was more to him than just murder. He was human. _He was human._

Snake forced his body to his knees, his hands bound behind his back and the world full of smoke and fire. “Les Enfants Terrible- the terrible children. That’s what the project was called. It started in the 1970s. Their plan was to artificially create the most powerful soldier possible and the person that they chose as a model was the man known then as the Greatest Living Soldier in the World-“

“Big Boss.” Snake supplied.

“But father was wounded in combat and already in a coma when they brought him in. So they created us from his cells with a combination of 20th century analogue cloning and the Super Baby Method.”

“Super Baby Method?” What the fuck was this drug store science fiction nonsense. Snake had heard more believable terms come out of the mouth of an actual fucking baby.

“They fertilized an egg with one of father’s cells and then let it decide into eight clone babies. Then they transferred the clones to someone’s uterus and later intentionally aborted six of the fetuses to encourage strong fetal growth of the other two. You and I were originally octuplets. The other six of our brothers were sacrificed to make us. We were accomplices in murder before we were even born.”

Snake shook his head. This was...disgusting. Who could do something so vile and unnatural all for the sake of creating a weapon. However horrible the circumstances of their conception, Snake refused to believe it was his fault. He didn’t personally choose to be created and he could have easily been one of the six killed instead. The blood was on the hands of the people who were running the project, not his. 

“So it was you and I,” Liquid continued. “Two fertilized eggs with exactly the same DNA but they weren’t finished yet. They used _me_ as a guinea pig to create a phenotype in which all the dominate genes are expressed to create you! I got all of the recessive genes!”

Snake narrowed his eyes. That was _literally_ impossible. If they were both clones of the same human being then they both had all the exact same sets of alleles- all that was different was which ones were expressed and which were dormant. David had done enough Punnet squares back in middle school to know how basic genetic inheritance worked and if they only gave one set of traits to one of them, then they were no longer truly be clones of Big Boss. Both conditions couldn’t be met at the same time. However, Liquid had so latched on to this inferiority complex that to try to convince him otherwise would be a waste of energy.

“You took everything from me before I was even born!” Liquid cried, pointing an accusatory finger at Snake. “But you and I aren’t his only children.”

“What?”

“The Genome Soldiers. They too are his progeny, carrying on his genetic legacy. But they’re different. They’re digital.” Liquid paused and Snake sighed. He was sure that whatever nonsense was about to come out of his mouth would do nothing to help his pounding migraine. “With the completion of the Human Genome project the mysteries of humanity were laid bare. Thanks to father’s DNA they were able to identify more than sixty ‘soldier genes’ responsible for everything from strategic thinking to to the proverbial ‘killer instinct.’ Those soldier genes were transplanted into the members of the Next Generation Special Forces, That how they became the Genome Soldiers.” Liquid laughed. “That’s right, the Genome Soldiers that you’ve been killing are our brothers created artificially through the alignment of nucleotides to mimic our father’s genes- our genes. They too are the product of numerous sacrifices.”

Snake almost didn’t want to ask. “Sacrifices?”

“Human experimentation! 1991...the Gulf War. The military secretly injected soldiers with the soldier genes. The Gulf War Syndrome that hundreds of thousands of returning soldiers complained about a side affect of it.”

Snake eyed him doubtfully. “And the story of they Gulf War Syndrome being caused by exposure to depleted uranium used in the anti-tank rounds- that’s just a cover story right?” He asked, slightly sarcastic

“That’s right! That was just a cover story issued by the Pentagon. First they tried to say it was post-traumatic stress disorder, then chemical or biological weapons. The poison gas detection units and the anti-sarin injections- they were all just a cover up for this secret genetic experiment.”

“So then the so called ‘Gulf War Babies’ that have been reported by veterans are...”

“Yes,” Liquid drew the word out. “They too are our brothers and sisters.”

“So the Genome Soldiers mean that the experiment was a success?” Snake sounded dubious.

“Success? Don’t be a fool! They’re a complete _failure_! We’re on the verge of extinction! Have you ever heard of the Asymmetry Theory?” Liquid continued on before Snake had even been able to open his mouth. “Nature tends to favor asymmetry. Those species that have gone extinct all show signs of symmetry. The Genome Soldiers suffer from the same problem, signs of symmetry. So do I...as do you.”

Snake followed Liquid’s pacing with his eyes, listening intently. “That right?” Liquid said, his hands crossed over his bare chest. “We are all on the verge of death at the genetic level. We don’t know when or what type of disease will occur. That’s why we need the old man’s genetic information!”

“You want Big Boss’s DNA so you can save your...your _family?_ ” Snake asked, incredulous. This man was fucking insane. “Very touching.”

“In nature, family members don’t mate with each other and yet they help each other to survive- Do you know why?” Liquid answered his own question. “It increases the chance that their genes will be passed on to a new generation. Altruism among blood relatives is a response to natural selection. It’s called the Selfish Gene Theory.”

Snake rolled his eyes. “So you’re telling me that your genes are ordering you to save the Genome Soldiers?”

“You can’t fight your genes, it’s _fate._ All living things are born with the sole purpose of passing on their parents’ genes. That’s why I’ll follow what my genes tell me...and then I’m going to go beyond. To break the curse of my heritage.” Liquid slowly walked towards Snake and Snake glared at the man. “And to do that, first I will kill you.”

Who was the slave mindlessly following orders now? Liquid had berated Snake for doing what he was told yet here he was just giving in to his supposed ‘fate’ like some stupid invisible strands in their blood dictated their every life decision.

No way.

Liquid had squatted down so that they were eye level, his smirk irritating. The blonde mad nodded his head to something just behind Snake. “Look behind you.”

Snake twisted his body around as fast as he dared, staring at the body laying limp on the metal grates a few yards away. Her skin was covered in blood, her clothes tattered and wounds leaking sluggishly but there was no mistaking that wild red hair.

“Meryl!” Snake yelled, trying to get her attention. Nothing. Snake glared back at Liquid. “Is she still alive?”

“I’m not sure,” Liquid feigned sympathy. “She was alive a few hours ago. Poor girl kept calling your name.”

Snake winced. He could tell that the girl had hero worshipped him- had been nursing a crush on him- but to hear that she’d just called for him over and over instead of conserving her strength was hard to hear. Snake didn’t love her- didn’t find himself attracted to her even though she was conventionally beautiful. It was always awkward when someone had a crush on you and the feeling wasn’t returned and it was made even more so by the fact that she was just a kid stuck in a shitty situation and Snake hadn’t been able to help her. It was sad but he couldn’t exactly do anything more about it. “Meryl...”

“Stupid Woman,” Liquid hissed. “Falling in love with man who doesn’t even have a name- who can’t give her what she wants!”

Snake’s eyes narrowed angrily. “I have a name!”

“No! We have no past, no future- and even if we did it wouldn’t truly be ours. You and I are just copies of our father Big Boss!”

No. His name was David- born on July 12th 1972. He was raised in the foster system, being passed around from family to family and being taught not at a school but at military base by special tutors. He had experienced neglect and abuse- had known the pain of being treated like an object instead of a human and it made him tough. He was a fighter, being put through boot camp at the age of thirteen and excelling at it. He served in the Gulf War and was a member of FOXHOUND. He had seen death and destruction on the battle field and had left it behind. He had built his own house, grown his own food, lived his own life. He was a musher, competing in dozens of long distance races with his teams of amazing dogs. He was the soulmate of a man named Hal Emmerich. David was more than just a copy of Big Boss- he was his own individual. Snake met Liquid’s eyes, his voice solid and harsh.

“Let Meryl go.”

“As soon as we’ve finished our business,” Liquid snapped back. “We’re almost out of time!”

And who was the one who had stood there monologging for ten minutes? “You’re taking about FoxDie?”

“No. It’s seems now that the Pentagon knows Metal Gear is destroyed. They’ve arrived at a decision. They won’t even need a BDA. If you want the details why don’t you ack your precious Colonel Campbell.”

Snake had a feeling he knew what that decision was but it would be nice to hear it from someone with authority. Liquid flicked a knife open and cut Snake’s hands free.

He dialed Campbell’s number.

“Colonel, can you read me?”

“Yes, I’m listening.”

“What has the Pentagon decided to do?” Snake demanded. “Answer me!”

Campbell sighed. “The Secretary Of Defense has taken over active control of this operation. He’s on his way there by AWACS.”

“What for.” Snake deadpanned.

“To bomb the place,” Campbell said, sad.

“Fuck!”

“Not only that,” Campbell was speaking mechanically now. “B-2 bombers just lifted off from Galena Airforce Base. They’re carrying B61-13 surface piercing tactile nuclear bombs.”

Snake sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He should have known. Even with Metal Gear destroyed the government would rather cover it all up then deal with the aftermath. He and Hal and Meryl and everyone else would just be collateral damage. Besides, they already knew too much. “He’s going to drop a nuclear bomb to vaporize all the evidence along with anyone who knows anything.”

“Don’t worry Snake,” Campbell sounded angry and determined. “I’ll stop the nuclear strike!”

“Oh yeah, and just how exactly do you plan to do that?” Snake snapped back.

“I may only be a figurehead here, but I’m still officially in command of this mission and if I issue an order to delay the strike, it’ll confuse the chain of command. That’ll at least buy you some time. It’ll give you a chance to escape.”

“But Colonel,” Snake was weary. Campbell had shown that he had ulterior motives many times in the operation, why should Snake believe him now. “If you do that...”

He’d be fired, maybe even arrested for treason.

“It’s okay Snake,” Campbell sighed. “Truth is FOXHOUND was already the subject of an undercover investigation. Meryl was transferred to this base just before the terrorist attack as a way of manipulating me.” 

Snake seethed. Was there no low that the government wouldn’t stoop to? “Those bastards...”

“I’m sorry,” Campbell murmured. “They forced me to cooperate in exchange for her life.” Snake could hear that Campbell was close to tears. “Truth is, Meryl’s not actually my niece- she’s my daughter. I... I hadn’t known for sure until just a little bit ago and I haven’t had the chance to tell her...” Campbell swallowed thickly, composing himself. “You’d better get out of there Snake.”

Snake had suspected there was more to Campbell’s relationship with Meryl than just a concerned uncle but... “Are you sure? It’ll be bad for you.”

“Don’t worry, it’s the least I can do for you after all the lies.” Snake wasn’t going to argue with him there. “I’m ordering them to cancel the bombing run- after that there’s no turning back!”

A moment passed and there were the sounds of a struggle. “ARAGH! What are you doing!?” Campbell screeched as Mei Ling screamed in the background.

“Snake!” Mei Ling overrode the Colonel’s frequency, her voice wavering with emotion.

“Mei Ling! What happened to the colonel!?”

“...I don’t believe it...” she was in hysterics.

“What. Happened.?”

“Snake...The Colonel...” Mei Ling was crying now. Another voice joined the frequency.

“Roy Campbell has been relieved of duty,” a deep voice rumbled. “This is the Secretary of Defense, Jim Houseman.”

“Put The Colonel back on.” Snake growled dangerously.

“He’s been placed under arrest for leaking top-secret information and the crime of high treason,” Houseman pompously informed them.

“Ridiculous!”

“Yes,” he drawled, “he’s a ridiculous man. He truly believed that he was in command of this operation.”

“You son of a bitch,” Snake spat. Houseman ignored him.

“There won’t be a speck of evidence left,” he remarked like he was talking about cleaning off a desk. “I’m sure the president would want the same thing.”

Snake scoffed. “The President ordered this?”

“The President is a very busy man. I have complete authority here.”

Snake narrowed his eyes. It sounded like this guy had made this decision on his own. “And just how do you plan on explaining a nuclear attack in Alaska to the media?”

“Don’t worry,” Houseman replied. “We’ve prepared a convincing cover story. We’ll simply say that the terrorists exploded a nuclear device.”

Snake laughed. “I suppose you think you’re smart. You’d be murdering everyone here- the scientists, the Genome Army, everyone.”

“Donald, the DARPA chief, is already dead.” Houseman said like this completely negated the fact Snake had previously brought up.

“So you didn’t mean to kill the DARPA chief after all.”

“He was my friend,” Houseman replied.

“And you could care less about what happens to everybody else right?” Snake spat out.

“Well if you give me the optic disk, I might consider saving them,” he smirked. Power hungry war mongering bastard. “Give me Metal Gear’s test data. Donald was supposed to bring it back.”

“I don’t have it,” Snake hissed, “and even if I did I wouldn’t give it to _you_.”

“I see. Oh well... that’s okay.” Houseman’s light attitude was really pissing Snake off. “You two are an embarrassment from the 1970s- our country’s dirty little secret. You can’t be allowed to live!”

If Snake ever met this man, he was going to beat his ass into the next millennia.

“Well, the bombs will be dropping soon and you two have a lot of catching up to do.” The man laughed. “Farewell.”

The call dropped and Snake seethed. Liquid smirked and stood up, walking away from Snake who was pulling himself to his feet.

“There’s no way out for us,” Liquid drawled. “Let’s finish this before the air strike.”

Snake rolled his shoulders and adjusted his gloves, tightening the Velcro fastenings. Liquid had stepped a respectable two yards away and Snake had a feeling that their fight was going to be hand to hand.

“You stole everything from me,” Liquid murmured, his back to Snake and his eyes downcast. “Only your death can satisfy me. Only your death can return to me what is rightly mine.” Liquid glanced over at Meryl, his smile cruel. “She’ll make a beautiful sacrifice for our final battle.”

Liquid turned around and gestures to the floor by Meryl’s head where a bomb had been placed, the timer flickering, just waiting to count down. “You see this? This will be the time limit for our final battle. This nuclear module is set to detonate at the exact moment of her death.” Liquid pressed a detonator and the countdown began. 3 minutes. “If you win, you might be able to save her. You could enjoy one brief moment of love before the end.”

Snake rolled his eyes dramatically. What was all this shit about fucking love? He wanted to save Meryl because she was Campbell’s niec- no, _daughter_ \- and because she was an 18 year old kid with her whole fucking life ahead of her, not because he wanted to fuck her.

They stared at each other for several seconds before Liquid dropped into a fighting stance and Snake followed suit. Liquid tried to rush him but Snake was too quick, twisting out of the way and punching his in the ribs for his trouble. Liquid spun around and tried to kick Snake but he was already mostly out of range and his combat boots barely scraped Snake’s stomach.

They circled around each other, tradeing places and Snake went in the offensive, coming in for a quick one-two punch followed by a kick. Liquid took the hits in stride but caught the kick, shoving Snake back in an attempt to tip him over.

Snake’s balance was too good for that.

Liquid rushed in and delivered a crushing punch to Snake’s ribs, not enough to crack but certainly enough to bruise. Snake hissed and smashed his elbow down over Liquid’s head, snagging his long blonde hair and pulling, tipping his head back before slamming it into his thigh, stunning him.

Liquid thrashed out of his grip and spat blood to the ground, looking for all the world like a deranged animal. Snake took a defensive position, riding out the following flurry of punches and kicks by blocking patiently and waiting for an opening.

There, Liquid’s left side.

Snake whirled a roundhouse kick into his brother’s ribs, watching as Liquid swayed in his feet, almost loosing his balance and falling off the top of Metal Gear. Snake took the chance to look at the timer.

1:44 seconds remaining.

Liquid rushed forward enraged, aiming to tackle Snake to the ground and wail on him but he never got the chance. Snake caught Liquid around the middle and used his own momentum against him, throwing him to the ground. Liquid pulled himself back up and Snake knees him in his jaw. He didn’t have time to fight fair and besides, Liquid was the one who wanted to fight to the death.

The blonde haired man delivered a right hook straight to Snake’s face, chasing it with a left hook giving him a black eye and a bloody nose respectively. Snake responded by gripping his hair again and twisting his head sideways, exposing the tender bundle of nerves that lurked behind the ear and above the neck. Snake gave three fast jabs, digging his knuckles into that spot as hard as he could and throwing Liquid’s equilibrium off. Snake than threw him to the ground, watching him land hard on his face.

Liquid pulled himself up, blood dripping out of his nose and mouth, staining his teeth red. Snake rushed forward to punch him back to the floor- which he succeeded at doing- but at the cost of a punch to the groin in response.

Snake gasped in pain and doubled over briefly, catching his breath as Liquid finally got back to his feet.

50 seconds.

Liquid tried to push at Snake and Snake caught his hands, their fingers lacing together and pushing with all their might. On any given day, they were a dead match for each other in terms of physical strength- neither giving any quarter nor refusing to back down. However, Liquid had taken more hits than Snake and had clearly not had the same hand to hand combat training Snake had.

Gradually Snake inched him closer to the edge of Metal Gear. Liquid grit his teeth, refusing to back down until the very end where he finally let go of Snake’s hands just a moment too late.

He flailed, arms pinwheeling and trying to gain his balance and Snake stepped back lest Liquid try to pull him down with him. Liquid fell backwards and Snake looked away.

“Snaaaaaakkkkeee!!!” Liquid screamed into the night, it steadily growing quieter as he fell, the words echoing around the room. Snake turned an sprinted over to where Meryl was laying.

“Meryl!” He barked, dropping to his knees and examining the bomb layout. He wasn’t an expert at defusing bombs but this one was fairly straight forward. Several wires extended from the explosives strapped to the bomb and up to the timer. The timer was equipped with a spark device that set off the explosives inside the chambers detonating the bomb. Snake located the sparking mechanism and pulled the wire out of the bomb, watching it stop its countdown with 20 seconds to spare.

Snake pulled Meryl away from the bomb and pushed it off into the darkness anyway just for good measure.

Meryl was pale as snow and about as warm. She had clearly lost a lot of blood and her body was shutting down. Snake took her pulse- weak but present- and made note that her chest was moving up and down. He helped her support her body, moving her into a semi-seated position.

“Meryl!” He hissed, shanking her as roughly as he dared. She moaned and took a shuddering breath, her hand twitching.

“Ughhhhh,” Meryl reaches for her head with a shaking hand. “Snake? Is that you?” Snake slowly removed his supporting hand as she sat up in her own volition. Once completely upright, she looked him up and down before hugging him. “Oh Snake! You’re alive!”

Snake froze, his hands awkwardly trapped to his sides. “Meryl,” he grumbled, “Are you uh...are you...okay?”

Jesus this was uncomfortable and not just because the hug fucking hurt.

“Are you okay? Is that all you can say to me?” She teased and Snake looked away, refusing to meet her eyes.

“It must have been terrible.”

“It wasn’t that bad,” Snake could feel her eyes boring into him, trying to get him to look at her. He closed his and tried to disentangle himself from her embrace. “I didn’t give in to the torture...nor the things even worse than that.”

Snake felt his mouth go dry. She didn’t mean...

Poor Meryl.

“You’re a strong woman,” Snake said, unable to say anything else. He knew that apologizing didn’t make things any better.

“I was fighting too!” She sounded close to tears, her eyes desperately trying to meet his. “Just like you! Fighting them...made me feel closer to you.” Snake winced, his gloved hands coming up to encircle her wrists as he tried to pry her off of him without making eye contact. “I felt like you were there with me and it gave me the strength to go on!”

She wouldn’t budge and Snake pulled harder, trying to make her let him go. “I’m sorry...” he whispered, apologizing for more than just her ordeal.

“Don’t say that!” She pleaded, silently begging him to look at her, to accept her affections. Snake refused to meet her eyes and she started to cry. “Please...”

“I’m sorry...” Snake said again, his eyes closed and face turned away.

Meryl rested her hand on his face and he flinched. “It made me realize something- through all the pain and shame there was one thing I was sure of... a single hope that I held on to...and that hope kept me alive.” Snake was dreading what was next, the confession she was going to try to make and the rejection he was going to have to respond with. “I wanted to see you again.”

Snake sighed, weary and exhausted and sad. “Meryl...”

Snake’s Codec rang and he pushed her arms away, standing up quickly and wincing when Meryl fell back into the grates, crying out in pain. He hadn’t meant to push her away like that but...

Snake answered the Codec. It was Otacon.

“Snake, it’s me.”

“Otacon, it’s good to hear you. Meryl’s alive and Metal Gear is destroyed- Are you okay?”

“She’s alive! That’s good- you save her man! Good job!” Otacon’s joy sounded fake and forced and Snake figures he had probably heard what Meryl had just said. Snake hoped he had made his disinterest clear enough.

“Where are you?” Snake asked.

“I’m still in Baker’s office, just a little ways from Metal Gear’s hanger.”

“Well I’ve got some bad news too, we’re about to be bombed.”

Otacon winced. “I guess were considered expendable,” he said, self depreciate. Snake frowned.

“Is there a way out of here?”

“Uh yeah. You can take the loading tunnel to the surface. There’s a parking garage right next to you, the tunnel leads from there to the surface.”

“Where does it lead?”

“Just west of the front entrance.”

“And how about the security?” Snake was trying to figure out what he’d have to fight through to get them all out.

“I just unlocked it,” Otacon replied. “Who do you think you’re talking to?” He joked. The corner of Snake’s lip twitched briefly.

“I’ll take care of security along your escape route too,” he added. Snake scowled.

“What are you going to do?” He asked, eyes narrowed. Hal fidgeted.

“I...I’ll stay here.”

“Are you crazy! This place is going to be bombed to hell- no way are you fucking staying here!” Snake was shouting but he didn’t care. If Hal thought for one second he was leaving without him...

“I need a little more time to take care of your escape route! Unlocking the security doors is difficult work. Only I can do it.”

“Otacon-“

“I’m staying here!” Hal interrupted. “It’s my own decision.”

“No.” Snake barked. Hal gulped. “You are _not_ staying here. This whole fucking mission the only thing that kept me going was trying to get _you_ out of this fucking mess alive and goddamn it you are _not_ going to just sacrifice yourself now!” Snake was hyperventilating, just a little. “Now you’re going to get your shit and get your ass over here and we are leaving this fucking island together if it kills me- understand!”

“But-“

“This isn’t up for debate Hal!! I will track you down and _drag_ you out of there if I have to!”

There was stunned silence over the line and Snake could feel Hal’s surprise and fear and his weird tingly happiness through their empathetic link just like Snake knew Hal could feel his fear and protectiveness and determination. It was dizzying, being able to understand each other so clearly.

“Okay. Okay, I’ll meet you in the garage.”

“You’d better,” Snake growled. “I won’t leave until you’re there.”

Neither one of them wanted to hang up but eventually Snake ended the call and turned to Meryl.

“Let’s get the hell out of here.”

“But...what about him?” She asked, her eyes wide and trying to meet his. “Where Otacon?”

“He’s in Baker’s office right now. He’s going to meet us in the garage.” Snake didn’t add the ‘or else’ but he thought it. He was serious, he wasn’t going to fucking leave until Hal was physically standing at his side.

Meryl nodded and bit her lip, looking away. Snake went to the edge and jumped down, descending Metal Gear until he found solid ground and he looked up.

He opened his arms and braced himself. “Meryl, jump. I’ll catch you.”

She jumped, taking off at a slight run to clear the tangled ruins of the metal catwalks. Snake caught her, grunting from the pain but holding steady. He put her down almost immediately.

The ground started to shake and Snake stared up at the ceiling. “Crap! It’s started.”

“Then we’d better get moving,” Meryl said, trying to be brave but clearly being scared.

“Right, lets get out of here.”

“Snake!” Meryl pointed at his bare torso. “It’s freezing outside!”

Right. Liquid had removed the top part of Snake’s sneaking suit. Why he had felt the need was anyone’s guess. Snake looked around, trying to locate it. There, behind some fallen metal. Snake sprinted over and snatched up the garment, pulling it in quickly and leaving the bullet proof vest behind. He didn’t have time.

Meryl was beckoning from the hallway, a stolen red jacket from the guards station in her hands. “C’mon let’s go!”

Snake ran through the hallway, adjusting his suit the best he could while on the move. Meryl was kind of slow, limping badly and panting with the effort. Snake tossed one of her arms over his shoulder and dragged her along.

They didn’t have time to limp, they had to get the fuck out of there _now_.

The garage was solid concrete and there were several armored vehicles lined up. Snake scanned the garage frantically.

Where was Hal?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one more left! Im so nervous excited!
> 
> Please drop a comment and kudo before you go- I am literally running on pure caffeine alone to finish this!


	20. PART NINETEEN: DAYBREAK

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are- the final chapter. I still can’t really believe I did it yet...here we are.
> 
> WARNING: this chapter contains a graphic description of a car crash so if that is something that might trigger any unhappy memories, feel free to skip over that part.
> 
> —:—

Snake ran his eyes over the garage again, trying to tramp down his panic.

Where the fuck was Hal?

Snake’s eyes roved over the other doorway, squinting into the shadows. Something was moving. Snake rested his hand on his gun and watched the shadows warp and bend slightly as a figure stepped out.

The stealth camo flickered off and Otacon timidly approached, his face flushed pink and his hands nervously ringing a pair of thin gloves. Hal had traded his lab coat for a cream parka, the inside lined with thick fleece. He was still wearing his jeans and sneakers but he had packed a small messenger bag, having thrown a few things he couldn’t leave behind inside.

Snake visibly relaxed when his eyes fell on the scientist and Hal smiled nervously, glad Snake wasn’t actually mad at him. Instinctually, Snake let go of Meryl and Hal stuffed his gloves into his pockets, the two of them meeting in the middle and embracing tightly. Hal’s arms locked securely around Snake’s torso and Snake pressed him close, one hand curving around his waist while the other found Hal’s cheek. Their eyes met and he leaned in, pressing their lips together.

It felt like pure electricity. Their soul bond was singing, their emotions bleeding into one great ball of relief and fear and adrenaline. The kiss wasn’t long, perhaps only three seconds, but it was easily the best kiss Snake had ever experienced and he knew from the way Hal’s emotions were fluttering around wildly that the same was true for him as well. They parted slowly, their foreheads pressed together as they processed what had just happened. They hadn’t planned to do that, it had just...happened.

Behind him, Snake heard Meryl’s gasp and her quiet, surprised “Oh.” They let each other go, stepping apart embarrassed. Hal ducked his head, his face scarlet and Snake looked at the ceiling, unable to make eye contact. Meryl looked gobsmacked, her eyes wide and mouth open. An awkward silence stretched between them.

Snake’s Codec rang and he quickly answered it. Anything to distract from this weird situation. It was Mei Ling.

“Snake, they’ve placed the colonel under arrest. I don’t know what I should do...”

Snake frowned. “Mei Ling, I have a favor to ask. Make a hard copy of all the Codec conversation data up to this point. I want some insurance.”

“Ok Snake,” she sounded fortified. Determined. “Leave it to me but please...be safe.”

Snake ended the call and turned to the group. “Meryl- you drive. Otacon, see if you can do something about the security from here.”

Meryl nodded and Hal gave a quick “okay.” Snake watched Meryl run towards a guard station to retrieve keys, triggering a security camera in the process. She snatched the keys up and pressed the button. The one to the far left. Everyone climbed inside.

Meryl gripped the steering wheel tightly while Hal pulled a laptop out of his bag, typing frantically. Snake hopped onto the back platform, gripping the turret gun tightly and pointing it behind him at the guards who were now flowing into the room from all sides.

Meryl put the car in gear and floored it, screaming a “hold on!” seconds before the tires squealed and the car lurched forward. Otacon exclaimed slightly, his typing stoping briefly while he steadied himself only to resume a moment later. Snake pointed the gun at the guards, firing in spurts. One guard fell by the bullets alone, the next two dropped when Snake hit an oil drum close by, the whole thing exploding and engulfing the men in flames.

The car roared through the tunnel unmolested for a minute, the only sound the rumble of the engine, Otacon’s typing, and everyone’s heavy breathing. An opening came up ahead and Meryl swore loudly.

“Fuck! A check point!”

Snake swiveled the gun forward making note of the guards and the sturdy lift gates, “Otacon-!”

“I’m working on it!” Hal’s voice was irritated and nervous, his emotions rising steadily with anticipation and fear. Snake started firing and Meryl covered her ears, the sound right above her head. The guard on the left was first, his torso being pumped full of holes by the machine gun before Snake pointed it at the other one, spraying the whole entryway with bullets. The mounting anticipation bubbling up from Otacon burst into a brief wave of relief as the lift gates rose and the last guard fell. Meryl presses her foot to the gas and they screeched past the first checkpoint.

Hal didn’t once stop typing, not even to push his glasses up his nose. The lights flew past rhythmically and when they reached the second checkpoint, Otacon hit the enter key on his laptop, grabbing his glasses before they fell off his face and the gates lifted.

“Go Snake!” Meryl shouted. Snake started firing at the guards, taking them out one after the other until they had a clear path. They had started to find their rhythm, only having to stop for maybe ten seconds this time.

Which was helpful considering that they only had maybe 10 minutes until the bombs started falling. Their hearts were racing, their fates dependent on how fast they worked together. They didn’t have time to argue or hesitate.

Meryl was racing down the roadway, her hands white knuckled on the steering wheel. Hal was typing as fast as he could, his fingers shaking from the nerves and cold. Behind them, Snake heard the sound of an engine and a pair of headlights started gaining on them.

“Not yet Snake!” A familiar voice shouted over the noise. “It’s not over yet!”

Liquid Snake had apparently, miraculously, survived the fall off of Metal Gear and had now commandeered another armored vehicle, driving with his left hand and holding a high powered machine gun in his right. Snake swung the turret back around, warning Hal to duck before the barrel hit him in the head.

Snake started firing immediately but it was nearly impossible. Liquid kept swirling wildly from side to side. Round after round of bullets rained down on the car, pining off the reinforced metal body and cracking the wind shield but try as he might, Snake couldn’t get a shot in Liquid himself.

The tunnel narrowed, transitioning from concrete to natural rock and ending Liquid’s swerving. The Brit leaned down, nearly flush against the passenger seat and sped up.

“Brace yourselves!” Snake shouted over the noise as Liquid rammed his car into the back of theirs. Meryl grunted and Hal cried out, barely managing to keep his laptop on his knees. Liquid backed up and rammed them again.

Snake tried to fire at the car but he was too close, Snake couldn’t angle the gun properly. It was _infuriating_. The tunnel widened again and Liquid resumed his swerving pattern, making it hard to hit him with the turret gun. Snake clenched his teeth and tried as hard as he could to hit the bastard, who had now started firing his own machine gun in spurts necessitating Snake to have to duck occasionally to avoid the shots. He felt another spike of relief from Otacon.

“The exit is open!” Hal shouted over the noise. 

“Nice work!” Snake barked back, unable to spare even a second more of his attention.

Liquid was yelling loudly, an instinctual battle cry. The tunnel widened further and Liquid speed up to drive along side them. He was now firing at their passenger side.

“Take cover!!” Snake shouted down at Otacon who glanced over, his eyes widening, before ducking low into a ball and covering his head, the now closed laptop being abandoned for the moment. Snake started firing at Liquid, doing his best to distract the fucker and keep Hal safe.

Liquid fired a few rounds but they were too high, sailing over their heads and hitting the opposite wall. Otacon flinched violently whenever this happened but he didn’t cry out- he was terrified but determined to be brave.

Liquid swerved the car into theirs, trying to knock it off course. Meryl grit her teeth and swore like a sailor, fighting to keep it steady. Hal stuffed the laptop back into his bag and gripped the strap for dear life, his head tucked between his knees.

The car was moving at an steadily increasing incline now. The tunnel was getting brighter too.

“Look Snake!” Meryl cried. “Daylight!”

Daylight it was. The Alaskan sunrise was shining into the tunnel’s narrow exit and Liquid raced ahead, trying to beat them outside. Hal looked up at the mention of sunlight and all at once, everyone- Meryl, Snake, Hal, and Liquid all realized what was about to happen.

“We’re gonna crash!” Otacon screamed, gripping the dashboard. Meryl slammed in the breaks but it was too late.

The collision was nasty. Liquid’s vehicle was t-boned by theirs, sending it careening into the cold morning where it promptly rolled over several times. Their own car flipped, the moments while they were airborne felt like they were happening in slow motion. Meryl’s hands left the wheel and she covered her head, her eyes screwing shut. Snake had let go of the turret gun when it was clear they were going to crash and had jumped forward, gripping the back of the front seats and pushing Hal out of the car. Hal, for his part, had done something very similar to Meryl and had covered his head. When he had felt himself being pushed out of the car, he screamed but didn’t have time to stop the motion and instead he tried to curl up, flying out of the car and rolling away through the hard packed snow, stopping several feet away. He groaned and rolled onto his side, staring at the wreckage.

The car landed top down with Meryl and Snake trapped beneath it. Snake had been lucky, he had landed almost flat and as such the car’s weight was more evenly distributed across his body. He was stuck but not painfully so. Meryl on the other hand... She had twisted in her seat, her body stuck between the chair and the steering wheel. Her already wounded leg was pinned and she was fighting back tears of pain, trying to pull her leg free of the mangled remains of the car.

Snake turned slightly, trying to wiggle out from under the wreckage. “Otacon, are you ok!?”

Hal got to his hands and knees, shaking like a leaf but otherwise okay. “Yeah! What about you guys?”

“We’re stuck!” Meryl hissed. She was in intense pain. Hal slowly crawled over to try to help.

Snake looked at the other car, his neck protesting the awkward angle. “What happened to Liquid?”

Otacon glanced over as well. “I-I don’t see him...”

“Is he dead?” Meryl asked.

Snake saw a figure struggling to get to his feet in the snow. He was bloody and bruised and limping terribly but Liquid was still very much alive. “Uh oh, here he comes.”

Meryl and Snake redoubled their efforts in trying to free themselves and Otacon tried to get up but his legs were too unstable. He couldn’t get his feet under him. Liquid lumbered forward, swaying dangerously but otherwise unhindered.

“Snake!” He shouted, his eyes wild. He lifted his gun, his hands shaking from the crash. He aimed and got ready to fire but then Liquid froze, his whole body seizing up. He was shaking uncontrollably, his body going rigid. He fell to his knees. “Fo-fox...”

“Die,” Snake finished.

Liquid dropped his gun and slumped forward, hitting the snow hard. He made one last effort to move forward, his hand reaching out towards where Snake was trapped in the wreck, but it fell limp as Liquid died.

Snake stared at the body of his brother, his heart racing. “If he’s dead that means...”

There was nothing but silence for a long couple of seconds before Otacon finally got to his feet and limped over. “Don’t say it Snake,” he whispered. Meryl stared up at the pink sky.

“What happened to the air raid?” She asked. “No stealth bombers in sight.”

Snake’s Codec rang and he answered it.

“Snake, can you hear me?” Campbell’s voice crackled over the frequency.

“Colonel!”

“Are you okay?”

“Colonel, what happened?” Snake asked, his eyes scanning the skies.

“The Secretary of Defense has been arrested,” the Colonel declared smugly. “Early retirement.”

“Arrested?”

“I was able to get in contact with the President. Metal Gear, the training exercise, everything was the Secretary of Defense acting alone.”

Snake was shaking from the adrenaline high. “What happened to the air raid- and the nuclear strike? Have they been called off?”

“Yes,” Campbell soothed. “The orders were rescinded. The F117s and the B2 Spirits have returned to the base. Once again, I have complete authority over this operation.”

“I see...”

“Washington isn’t stupid enough to use nukes to cover up a few secrets,” Campbell said. Snake privately disagreed but at the moment all that mattered was that it was over- that they weren’t about to die. “In any case, the danger’s over. Thanks Snake...”

“Colonel, you can rest easy,” Snake said as he glanced over at Meryl, pinned and in pain but stable. “Meryl’s fine.”

“Really?” Campbell’s voice was quiet and thick with tears, the word coming out barely above a whisper. “...thanks. Thank you Snake...” the Colonel cleared his throat. “Snake, I’m sorry I- I kept a lot of things from you.”

Snake sighed. Right now, on this cold Alaskan morning, Snake was just glade it was over. “It’s fine, Colonel.”

“Snake...” Campbell drew it out, fondly exasperated. “I’m not a colonel.”

Snake snorted. “Whatever you say, Colonel.”

Campbell sighed and changed the topic. “Anyway, I’ve got a present for you. There’s a snowmobile close by- Mei Ling saw it on the satellite photos. This time of year the glaciers are pretty calm, you’ll probably be able to ride right out of there.” Campbell smirked. “I’ll be the boys at the DIA and the NSA never expected you to come home alive.”

Snake snorted. They probably didn’t _want_ him to make it out of there alive. He was- how did Houseman put it?- ‘the country’s dirty little secret.’ It’d probably have been in their best interests if he just died. “Yeah, I’d better not show my face around here.”

“No danger of that- you three officially died after your Jeep sank into the ocean.”

“Not too far from the truth,” Snake mumbled.

“Also, there’s a helicopter waiting for you on Fox island.”

Snake frowned and looked at Meryl. “Colonel, Meryl is banged up pretty bad, I don’t think she can snow mobile out of here.”

“Understood, I’ll have someone go pick her up. Don’t worry.”

“Thanks...Roy.” Snake had no doubt that the colonel would keep his word this time, seeing as it was Meryl who needed the lift. “Are you going to be okay?”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got an insurance policy- a hard copy of all Mei Ling’s data. As long as I’ve got that, you, me, and Mei Ling will be fine.”

‘You’re welcome,’ Snake thought smugly. “The batteries keeping my Codec active will run out soon,” Snake reminded Campbell. “They won’t be able to follow us.”

“I guess we won’t meet again,” Campbell murmured, sad. Snake didn’t feel quite the same way but it was still somewhat bittersweet.

“Don’t worry, I’ll pay you a visit sometime,” Snake promised.

“Really?” A smile. “I’ll look forward to that.”

“Roy, just tell me one thing- what about FoxDie? Are Otacon and Meryl safe?”

“They’re both fine, they weren’t included in FoxDie’s original programming.”

Snake swallowed thickly, “and what about me? It killed Liquid...”

The colonel hummed. “Naomi said she wanted to talk to you personally about that.”

Snake scowled. He really didn’t want to but if it meant he’d get some goddamn answers than he’d do it. “Put her on,” he grumbled.

There was some static and Naomi’s voice floated over the airwaves. “Snake it’s me...I- I heard about my brother.”

“I’m sorry,” Snake frowned, remembering Frank’s words. He couldn’t tell Naomi something like that, not when she truly felt that he was her only family. What good would it do her at this point? Perhaps a half-truth would work instead. “But he had one last message he wanted to say to you.he told me to tell you to forget about him and to go on with the rest of your life.”

“Frankie said that?” Naomi was touched and Snake knew he’d made the right decision.

“Yeah, he also said he always thought of you as his own sister.” Snake paused. “Naomi, your brother just save you, me, and the whole world. He fought with every ounce of strength in his body.”

“Maybe...” Naomi was holding h back tears. “Maybe now he’s finally found some peace. He wasn’t really my brother anymore...ever since what happened in Zanzibar he’s been like a ghost. A ghost just looking for a place to die.”

Naomi started crying and Snake gave her a minute, letting her collect herself before moving on. She sniffled and with a shaky breath she stopped crying. “Naomi, Liquid died from FoxDie too. What about me? When am I gonna go?”

“That’s up to you,” she said simply. Snake narrowed his eyes.

“What does that mean?”

“Everybody dies when their time is up.”

Snake rolled his eyes, impatient. “Yeah, so when’s mine up?”

“It’s up to you how you lose the time left to you. Live Snake, that’s all I can say to you.”

Snake’s eye twitched. Why couldn’t anyone just answer a simple fucking question?

Naomi ended that call and Snake turned his attention to Hal, who was surveying the wreckage and trying to figure out how to free them.

“You guys ready?” he asked timidly, his grey eyes wide. Snake nodded and Meryl steeled herself for the oncoming pain.

Hal pressed his shoulder against the car and pushed, leavering up the metal just far enough that Snake could crawl out. Meryl tried to push herself out, but eventually Snake had to grab her hand and drag her out, wincing at the whimpers of pain Meryl tried to hide and the awkward angle her leg was now bent at.

Hal let the wreckage drop and Snake propped Meryl up against the steel. “Wait here, Campbell is sending someone over to pick you up momentarily.”

Meryl nodded, her eyes distant. “Thanks Snake. I’m sorry for all the trouble I cause you.”

Snake shook his head. “It’s fine just- take care of yourself Rookie.” Meryl rolled her eyes but otherwise didn’t give him any grief. Snake turned to Otacon. “Cmon, let’s get out of here.”

Hal nodded and pushed his glasses up. “Lets go.”

Snake led the two of them down past the landing strip where the tunnel dumped them out. The snow mobile was at sea level, hidden inside a rocky alcove. They descended the cliff in relative silence, only saying the occasional word or two to help guide each other safely down. Their shared relief and contented joy was enough for the moment.

Hal stared at the sunrise, his grey eyes flashing and his mousy brown hair flying around in the wind. Snake gently nudged him.

“Come on, I think I can see it from here.”

“Right,” Hal blushed, taking Snake’s offered hand as they carefully slid down the rest of the icy slope. Once their feet were on solid ground, Otacon continued to stare out at the sunrise while Snake pulled the tarp off the snow mobile and pushed it out of its cave. It was a pretty good model, big enough for two with a high speed of 75 miles per hour- not the best on the market but more than sufficient for what they needed it to do.

Snake straddled the seat and turned the engine over. It took almost immediately, the cold not stalling it one bit. Hal snapped out of his trance at the sound and he sprinted over, pulling his gloves on and adjusting his bag so that it rested against his back. Otacon gingerly drawled on behind him.

Snake felt Hal’s skinny arms wrap around his waist, his embarrassment bleeding though their empathetic bond like dye in water. 

It was...cute.

Snake broke the awkward silence. “Until today, I’ve lived only for myself. Survival has been the only thing I cared about in my life.”

“That’s not just you,” Otacon said. “That’s how everyone is.”

Snake shook his head fondly. “I only felt truly alive when I was staring death in the face. I don’t know...maybe it’s written into my genes.”

Hal rested his chin on Snake’s shoulder. “What about now?”

“...I want to enjoy life, I really do.” Snake turned his head, the faces only inches apart. “What about you Otacon?”

Hal blushed, biting his lip nervously. “I feel like a new man.”

Snake smiled fondly. “What are you gonna do now? Continue your research?”

“Oh no, I’m done with science.” Hal trailed off, looking out at the sunrise. “...I want to help people.”

Snake looked at the pink and orange sky, mulling over what the future might bring. “Sounds good.”

“You know, the whole reason I got into science was because I was no good with people- I was scared of them. Scared of life. I thought I could never understand them because they’re all so illogical.” Hal was staring at Snake’s face, pensive. “But I think I’m starting to understand now.”

Snake tore his eyes way from the horizon and instead looked down at the scientist. “You and I are a lot alike then.”

Otacon sighed and slowly lifted his head off of Snake’s shoulder. “I’m tired of always being a spectator in my own life, I think it’s time that I stand on my own two feet and make my own path. I won’t hide anymore.”

Snake smirked, teasing. “What, this mean you’re gonna give up your stealth camo?”

Hal laughed and Snake felt his heart jump in his chest. He wondered just what he’d have to do so he could hear it again. “Yeah, you can have it.”

Hal unpinned the camo from his chest and handed it over to Snake, their fingers brushing gently. Snake looked the device over, inspecting the technology that had kept his soulmate alive during this whole ordeal. He carefully pocketed it.

“So, we should probably get going,” Hal suggested awkwardly. “Want me to drive?”

“No thanks,” Snake turned his head towards the horizon and kicked the engine into gear. “I’d rather do it myself.”

“No problem,” Otacon settled in behind Snake, their bodies pressed close together. “So where to Snake?”

Snake frowned slightly. Had he really never told Hal his name? Sure he wa son a mission but, he had to have seen his name on his ankle. There was no way someone as curious as Hal hadn’t already looked at the name written on his ankle. Snake turned his head. “My real name is David, Otacon.”

Otacon smiled brightly. “I’m Hal, Dave.”

Snake huffed a laugh. “That funny. Hal and Dave. Maybe we should take a trip to Jupiter.”

Hal laughed softly. “Why don’t we start by getting off this island?”

Dave smiled and reved the engine. “That sounds like a great idea.”

Hal gently tightened his arms around David, his head resting against his back. “So where are we going now?”

Dave got the snow mobile moving, easing it out onto the frozen sea. Gradually, they picked up speed until they were cruising along the expansive ice field, chasing the horizon.

“...Home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *deep breath* _ITS DONE!_ Guys this was such a massive undertaking, this is easily the longest fix I’ve ever written and it has been a labor of love. I’m not done with this series at all, there will be many more stories to come as we follow these dorks through their long partnership.
> 
> Please leave a comment and a kudos before you go and check back soon for the next installment: Thawing Jupiter.
> 
> Stay Gold,  
> -Inky


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